2008 was actually a tough year for me and getting into running was a perfect distraction and accomplishment.

Seriously, what did I expect after only running on the treadmill?

It was the Komen Race for the Cure and I came in at 34 minutes. I can run under that time now and a 5K is a breeze these days but I did come a long way.

After a few more 5Ks, I did 5 miles, 6 miles, 10K, 10 miles, 15K, and I even tried a half marathon last year.

Each race left me hungry for more.

I probably spent a fortune on exercise gear alone.

My favorite race so far had been the 10 miler. I think I was the most prepared by being unprepared and it was the day when I truly learned how I was “born to run.”

There’s no stopping me now. Today,  I signed up for the ING Marathon in Miami scheduled January 27th, 2013. My aunt, a bionic beast herself, asked me to sign up and there was no second guessing it.

Dreaming to be the best I can be. Pushing my body to its limit, puking if I have to because I want it so bad. I need it. It’s a goal that I can meet because I see it in the distance. It’s an experience I want to cross off my list.

It’s on Bitches! You can follow my progress here.

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Today Google celebrated Gideon Sundback for his invention of the zipper… He didn’t invent the name however. The first “hookless” design was sold in 1914. Read more random history.

First let’s talk about the 50 plus miles that I’ve been able to log this month so far without dragging myself into the office right after.  I sleep better, I’ve lost over 6 lbs, my diet is more deliberate. I’m now a gym rat and I’m in a great mood with my very lovely team. I’m working on an incredible project with a fabulous jr art director and I’m continually challenging myself so that I feel like I’m learning every day.

Enough about the profession change for now as I am so freaking anxious to share with the world this exciting project. Too bad, I’ll have to wait. For now, I want to write about my diet changes and body changes.

Recently, I caught up with someone at a bar and they told me about how much weight they had lost in the past 3 months. I was shown before and after photos and I was completely shocked. So, I had seen people dropped lbs like no one’s business (think Jennifer Hudson but c’mon she could have had a trainer or nutritionist also) but meeting someone in person who had shed 40lbs in that short time on their own was ridiculously inspiring. I was told  that they used the app called loseit to keep track of their lifestlye. Ok, so miss early adopter here might have missed the wave on this fitness app because she had camped out in an office all day and donating to the gym so, this app was like a shiny new toy.

Loseit works like this:
- Set a goal.
- Get a daily calorie budget.
- Log breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and exercises.
- Do not go over calorie budget.
- If you go over the calorie budget, burn off those calories like mad by making it up with exercise.

I’ve found myself in the gym past 9pm from consumption guilt and of course I feel accomplished. I set a goal to lose 30 lbs but I’m more interested in decreasing my body fat percentage because I’m actually content at this mass – it makes me look healthier. Now, when I make it leaner, I will feel even more healthy.

To be honest, my vanity just wants me to look amazing in itty bitty dresses – there I said it.

Anyway, since I’ve gotten questions, my regime is this:
Some days I run so I have something half an hour before to fuel my body.
For snacks, I try to keep it healthy though I’m prone to random binge sweet intakes. My favorite snacks are actually fruit but I prefer mixed dried fruits and nuts. In the morning before my run I can have a cup of white rice or a cliff bar. I can’t seem to run without nourishment anymore.  After my run, I have proteins along with my 10 calorie vitamin pack. Along with my cup of coffee (with no sugar but probably 45 calories of my coffee creamers). I’ve experimented with C4 extreme so I realize that I might have to give up coffee (for at least 1/2 the day for now). I had to change from Neurocore because women shouldn’t take Geranium extract.

On the days that I don’t run:
Start off the morning with a balanced breakfast. If I don’t get a full breakfast because of time, I have a lean shake. Lean shakes are amazing for meal replacement and they are only about 120 – 170 calories. I also have my active vitamin pack. I also have my coffee (with or without creamers but definitely no sugar).

For lunch, it really all depends on how much I worked out. I prefer cooking for myself but I enjoy having gourmet meals (one of the best or worse things about NYC and diets). These days, I can have sushi everyday but a sandwich will do or anything to quickly fuel me throughout the day. Or, if I had been generous about breakfast, a Lean Shake will do.

For dinner, Lean Shake if it’s too late. Or, meats and veggies to my heart’s content.

This was me the other day:

By July 20, 2012, I hope to be either 30 lbs less or 18% body fat to feel accomplished.

Let’s see how it goes. I hope that will mean even better photos for this blog in the near buff?

I’ll share some of my workouts with you as time goes by. Let’s hope I can keep this up! My goal: At least half hour work-out per day.

Follow my progress on Dailymile.com

Matt V posted about an awesome Virgin America long haul jetsetter deal last year so I swiped it since it was in my budget as an early gift. It was a Gilt Groupe Deal. It was 3 round trip tickets to any destination 1. I love Virgin America airlines 2. I had reasons to go to the west coast. I used the first one to attend Adobe Max and saved the other two. Total cost: $1205.00.

• Seats in Main Cabin Select
• Complimentary food and beverage
• Five Elevate points for every $1 spent on your Gilt City purchase

In conversation I told Emily Duong(an avid jetsetter) about the tickets. I mentioned the locations that it covered and she immediately said “Cabo.” A few weeks into it she kept reminding me of Cabo. Conversations usually went like: ”

These were our “free breakfast passes.”

I brought back lots of Cabo coffee

My favorite deal was purchasing two lovely earrings .

We came across a vendor who customized a bracelet for me for $4. He made it in 10 minutes !

Cliff (who took most of these photos) and I  got a large breakfast after I realized that the tickets were going to be about 30 bucks per person.

Not wanting to pay that, Emily and her Matt decided that renting a van would be cheaper (it was).

We piled into the bus and drove to Harriman State Park.

We gathered at the parking lot, did some stretches and went on our way.

One of the cool highlights on this trip was a rock formation called the lemon squeezer (We went through a narrow passageway and climb up a short but steep rock face). We had to wait for some other folks so we relaxed and replenished our energy with some power foods and more carbs to burn.

Emily (@emyyy) leader of The Urban Hiking Adventure League of Justice Conquistadors.

Island Pond

We took 05:32 for the 7.62 mi. Exhausted but accomplished, we headed our separate ways.

I love hiking. Can’t wait for the next one!

I realized that I acquired jadersworld.com over a decade ago and one of my passions had in fact been writing. Come to think of it, fine arts was one of them too… But mostly writing. I moved jadesworld to designladynyc. There wasn’t anything particularly interesting about my thoughts at the time but I understand that I might not exactly be the norm of demographics that people had been used to. It’s not that I’m special or anything, it’s just that I imagined someone would gain incite on the world that surrounded me and I’d have some sort of chronological documentation of my life – a timeline if you will. It allows me to see growth. Or, just help me rant about nonsensical thoughts.

It’s quite unnerving seeing the same angst that consumed me as a teenager being present in me as an adult. I started being hard on myself when I noticed. Then I realized that many of those around me were experiencing the same thing too (even the adults who were of age before I became an adult myself). Are we just children in bigger shoes? Here I am about to blame the past few months on quarter life crisis when I have in fact passed that quarter life checkpoint. I think it’s possible to just never figure things out.

We are probably just here to set goals and make them. To be born and grow old. There’s probably no definition of old. Just a set time for you to expire on this shelf called life and you just need to do the best that you can. You were dealt a deck of cards, not everyone gets the marriage with 2.5 kids, white picket fence and happily ever after.

I can’t help but wonder what my next steps are. What are yours?

I’ve always respected the great mentors in my field and in  reflecting on my own career in comparison ensures that I’ll never settle to be devalued or settle for less. I’m so happy to have stuck to that mantra.

I’ve done so many cool things these past couple years, I’m proud. I still want to do something so incredible that it would change the world.

Advertising is an interesting field. Falling into it seemed painless and I love learning more and more. However, the journey hasn’t been so painless. These days when I meet people who have been in it for over a decade, I want to learn their stories. I’m fortunate when I meet those who absolutely love it. When I do, I wonder what field I would rather be in if I hadn’t gotten into it.

My greatest challenge this past year was to balance my life. I didn’t seem to have time to blog or Tweet anymore. Many of you know that this behavior is unlike me. As a creative person I believe it’s important to step outside yourself. Even if you look at inspiration, you ought to look at things more conceptually.

My goal this year was to find a position that allowed me to balance my life. I feel like the world can leave you behind if you don’t. When I’m older I would like the stories of coming up with the great idea to be the focus of my legacy. Let’s see how this new year goes, so far, it’s even possible that I’ll find love.

By the way, I missed my train that morning and thought I would miss the 6:45am start but I made it on time.

I climbed 1215 steps in 16 minutes (15:59), our CEO did it in 14:41 (amazing!).

I was so dizzy at the top but the experience was exhilarating!

After this, I joined my friend @gardenia for a 3 hour crash course of Salsa on Two dancing. Yay to my surroundings keeping me active throughout 2012.

A year older yes, wiser? Maybe. A year ago I promised myself that I would get the heck out of NYC for my birthday. It came to pass and I did. It was a very cold February last year and after riding a mechanical bull and doing the same happy hour-sports bar theme… I ended up having mixed feelings about how the evening transpired. Although I wish that my friends were on location for my birthday, I couldn’t have asked for a better time than what occurred.

I made this birthday about 5 days long, starting on Thursday.

On Friday, I went running along the pier with my buddy Francky. We did 3.89 mi on the Frederiksted pier of walking and running for 1 minute intervals at dusk.

After we got dressed and went to play some pool (I’m not good at it but I won 1 out of the 3 games).

Then, I went hiking on Saturday with Poppa John from Hike St. Croix. If you’re on St. Croix locally or visiting, you should definitely try it out! You also get to learn about some plants (including psychedelic drugs and enhancers) and the history of the indians, slaves and settlements that were on the island.

You could also be so lucky to see where Shawshank Redemption’s last scene was shot. We did 2.75 mi.

I stopped at the Agriculture fair right after having some beers and met with Shanna and her boyfriend. They got me the cutest coach bag (in red, my favorite color!).

I had good food, bought some art and walked around the fair.

On Sunday (my birthday), I embraced solitude and I was happy to have traveled all day for my birthday. I went to St. Thomas, made my way to St. John and came back to St. Croix.

The day started off at 6:30 am. Since the Agriculture fair was going on, there was a deal with Seaborne Airlines for $50 round trip tickets to St. Thomas for folks who lived on St. Croix. I got a ticket for 8am. I called a service on St. John that offered parasailing but they mentioned that they wouldn’t have it again until Tuesday (no!). I quickly scanned the other activities on the island: Horseback riding, hiking, dingy rentals– meh, I’d figure something out. I didn’t want to plan my birthday at all apparently.

I landed on St. Thomas and got picked up by my uncle who seemed to want me to change my mind about heading to St. John. I believe he didn’t like my impromptu visit with no concrete list of activities. I’d figure it out, I concluded. I mentioned to him that I wanted to try parasailing but they didn’t have it available or how about jet skiing? I loved that. Scuba (I forgot my scuba license) maybe ? He said he knew a place to jetski and when we arrived, they mentioned that they also did parasailing and could be ready within the hour.

Sweet! I didn’t plan to parasail in St. Thomas but what a remarkable idea!

Matt and Brandon from Vi Water Sports made this experience so amazing!

“They use a 600’ towline so you will get anywhere from 350’ to 400’ off the surface of the water.” It was quite high and didn’t feel like I was suspended at all. I just felt like  was sitting in a chair in complete silence while I observed the coastline around me. They explained that they could dip me in the water towards the end of the experience. I told them that I’d love to!

After parasailing, I enjoyed a Dominican breakfast:

Cucumbers, green bananas, spinach, veggies, saltfish, an egg, corn, plantain and some tamarind juice (I need to cook like this more).

Right after breakfast, I took the Ferry to St. John:

Unfortunately my camera died so I only had low res shots of my experience (before my cell phone died).

The Ferry was about 15 minutes and while on, I tried to decide what to do once I get to St. John. To be honest, I just wanted to cross the island off my list of places I’ve been however, I have reasons to go again. I decided last minute that I would check the Parks office to get a map to Hike. The island is only 9 miles long, I could run it but, I didn’t want to do so with my bookbag. However, hiking… I’d get a chance to explore nature.

I asked the ranger for a short hike. He gave me a map of somewhere nearby and it was just 3 miles long. Fantastic! I also noticed that it went towards the beach. The trail was Lind Point Trail and I set my GPS watch then made my way out and up some stairs near the main office. About a quarter mile in, I came across some donkeys that were blocking the path. Since I’ve never been up close before, I wondered what to do.

I didn’t want to startle them and there were more than 6 of them so I knew they could kick my butt (and outrun me). I fished for the number of the park office but couldn’t find it, then I saw some hikers returning from the opposite direction. I asked if it was ok to walk through the herd. They said yes and mentioned that there was a donkey following them as well in the distance. Oh awesome! Knowing that they were completely docile creatures set me at ease.

I continued my way and came across Solomon Beach. I took the opportunity to strip into my bathing suit and put on my Vibrams. I went in to swim for five minutes. The shoreline was beautiful and I was told that St. John had incredible beaches so it wasn’t a surprise that I would be impressed. I continued my journey to another beach (Honeymoon beach) but it wasn’t as gorgeous as Solomon (foursquare tippers seem to agree).

I continued around and returned to the park office but not before I came across this view:

I ended my hike (at 3.2 mi) by getting some drinks and a burger at Woody’s… The drink was pretty good but the burger was ok. I decided to take the Ferry back at 4pm to meet with my uncle. We had some ice cold beers (I had a Presidente) and drive around the island. By the way, I really appreciate walking around with my drinks everytime I come back to the islands.

He made a few stops where the views overlooked the harbors where I saw yachts that I might never afford. We then stopped at an icecream stand that sold alcoholic shakes, it’s called Udder Delight (great reviews on Yelp). After downing a few more beers, I was dropped off at the airport once again for my flight back to Santa Cruz.

I was tired, tipsy, tanned and filthy:

But, I felt GREAT!

Then, I got to St. Croix and went out for more socializing and drinks!

The next day, after some recuperation, I went for another run/walk with Francky. However, not before receiving my gift. Which was really thoughtful and humorous! Right after, we went to Dorsche beach and ran on the soft sand (torture). It was 2.53 mi of challenging my entire body.

We took a dip in the ocean again (I had to! I had dipped in the water in St. Thomas and St. John and it only made sense that I did the same on St. Croix)

Immediately after, I went to Bombay with my mom and step dad to have a post-birthday dinner.

I can’t eat like this everyday!

Then, we all went home to retire. Now, I’m just waiting to get on my flight. I had an amazing time here and incredible birthday! Thanks so much for everyone who wished me well on my special day. I love and appreciate everyone of you and well, hopefully this year will be filled with more learning and growth.

Dwayne got tickets to Dialog in the Dark (An exhibition at the southside seaport in NYC). It was an experience in complete darkness. After picking up our tickets, Ree (who happens to be from St. croix where I grew up), took our coats and bags and led us into a hallway where she handed us walking sticks and had us watch a video that explained the experience. We were behind another couple whose names we learned later were Kim and Jeff, from Long Island. We were then carried to another room where we saw a short film about the areas of the city that we were going to experience and when it ended, the room slowly became pitch dark.

Derek Suarez guided us with his voice into a room where we heard water flowing and smelled a strong scent of flowers. He explained that we were experiencing the fountain at 72nd street central park. We touched the ledge and placed our hands in the water. We were then taken across a swinging bridge into a supermarket.

Again in complete darkness, we touched items… Cans of soup, ginger roots, rice, sugar, flour, etc.

We moved ahead and came to a train that took us to Times Square. Everything was completely surreal. Taking the train in complete darkness, going two stops and climbing up and down stairs. I can’t do it with my eyes closed yet alone in the dark.

More areas granted us moments of discovery… Of items, of displacement… We ended the tour at a diner’s booth I smelled a strong welcoming scent of coffee. The lights turned on when we were all seated and once we placed our eye on our tour guide, we realized that he was completely blind.

I had gotten to experience a walk in Derek Suarez’s shoes. Derek became blind about 10 years ago he has Leber’s congenital amaurosis. He started slowly losing his eyesight from the age of 7. By the time he was 25, he was completely blind. I truly applaud his independence, taking the train daily and commuting.

I’m always amazed at the things that I experience here in NYC. This certainly touched my heart and I really hope that if you’re in NYC and able… Check out this exhibit.

Yesterday I went on a hike arranged by Emily. It was incredible! We walked close to 7 miles. The highest elevation was 520 feet dropping to -12. It was 30 degrees and thankfully it didn’t rain.

We went to Palisade interstate park. Initially we missed the first bus (sucked for me because I had only 3 hours of sleep and got a lot of caffeine in my system). The group was pretty good about entertaining each other for the 2 hours we had to wait for the next bus.

We got on at 11 am and took the 45 minute trip to one of the entrances. I set my GPS watch and joined the others ahead of me. We walked a mile to the rest stop area and I realized that my bag might be a bad idea. I had packed so much liquid (including caffeine) and a full lunch that made it difficult for maneuvering. We set off on the path and immediately I realized why Emily’s email had mentioned that the hike would have been “moderate to challenging.”

We descended down tiny stairs and led unto rocks along the water. Of course I became concerned. I hate heights (I get vertigo) and my huge bag wouldn’t allow me to be as nimble as I could be without it. Allegedly I was the person who would have been the most in shape for this trip (yea right). Let’s just say weights and running doesn’t really prepare you for tiring climbs on 3 hours of sleep… But, how amazing it was when we saw the scenery and ate lunch at the top of the climb. Everyone did incredibly well keeping up despite the cold.

After lunch, we continued on, stopping at the rest stop one more time, before we continued on our way. We proceeded again before dusk approached. At the bus stop we stretched (which I’m sure helped today), and waited about half hour before it rolled in. We got up, I napped and headed home.

By the way, all this time, I had no phone (it died and I had to have it replaced). It was quite liberating. I synced my GPS watch and screen captured the images.

—————————————

(image from emediatrade)

Any designer who works on apps for mobile phones is tasked with an important decision: Which screen size should I propose for the final application? Some quick research reveals that in the United States, less than 5% of mobile screens are 320 pixels and higher. The iPhone is a simple 320 x 480 pixel screen. Most Nokia screens are 240 x 340 pixels, and Blackberry screens are quite interchangeable. But the resolutions just mentioned aren’t the only screens that will need content adjustments as technology evolves. Thinking multiscreen—not only in development, but in planning and tactics—is a win-win situation for both our clients and their customers.

WHAT IS MEANT BY MULTISCREEN?

Multiscreen is how content is viewed on multiple platforms—from mobile to electronic billboards. Each platform is distinctive in size, resolution, and orientation.

Being aware of multiscreen dimensions is crucial to a successful execution because consumers influence each other’s buying habits. If a new gadget on the market has a distinctive screen size that prevents previous iterations of application ectypes to run correctly, consumers will complain that our apps don’t work, which may result in our clients reconsidering their budgets in app development. We can’t continually separate desktop vs mobile users and imagine that those devices are the only screens meant to reach consumers.

THINKING BEYOND DESKTOP VS MOBILE.

Consider this: I use a GPS watch almost daily. I’m one of hundreds (if not thousands) of runners in a 100-mile radius. I’ve often asked myself: Why isn’t there content on it to influence our buying habits? Sure, it’s a tiny screen, but as a designer, I can’t help but imagine how I could manipulate its near stamp-sized dimensions to reach a completely new, very targeted audience. I’m also the proud owner of an Android phone and another Android device, Google TV. Even though they share the same operating system and similar functionalities, their ad real estate is remarkably different. And certainly there are more devices worthy of our attention.

I’d love to find the best way to interject the experience of a PSP gamer while they’re commuting rather than waiting for them to get home to see that 300 x 250 pixel banner that I created for a Web site. Also, the app they’re using may be completely ad-free. How do I tell them about this amazing product?

We also need to think beyond iPad and iPhone devices. Too often we follow the current trend without noticing that competitors might actually be outselling those devices (Android devices are currently outselling iOS devices). By catering to just the popular devices that seem to be all around us—but that may not be so popular on a national scale—we lose a remarkable percentage of our audience.

THE MULTISCREEN LANDSCAPE.

As our screens evolve, it forces us to think about who we’re reaching and which platform they’re using to view our ads. We’ve successfully gone small by getting away from the browser and moving on to tablets and mobile. However, we can’t be stagnant. We’re being forced to imagine each user experience in diverse ways; the resounding conclusion is they don’t have to be the same. The multiple screens that we’ve noticed fall into what we call platform fragmentation. Unfortunately, our amazing designs are limited because every company chooses to have a different mobile experience to make it exceptional. So, in most instances, designs for content within apps and browsers aren’t the same.

Moving forward, agencies need to consider and even influence new resolutions by considering projection-like interfaces to wearable screens; we then need to make our clients aware of these options. Enriching our ad-experience analysis this way will give us a huge return on investment when we target specific demographics as a way of attracting new consumers.

And I haven’t even mentioned eBooks and their numerous delivery platforms!

The important point—not just for designers, but for all advertisers—is that we need to effectively produce our clients’ content in multiscreen. Ultimately, our intention should be to adapt design decisions and budgets to create optimized content for all targeted audiences. Our clients will be happy that we’re reaching consumers who were previously unreachable, and we’ll be commended for providing the forward-thinking they deserve.

I joined a team at my company to Climb for Multiple Sclerosis in March.

It’s 66 flights of stairs. Which is a very short distance for this disease to be honest. So far my friends and social network has helped me raise $250 and I am deeply honored and proud of this. Thank you to Charlene, Emily, Adam Jackson, Christian, Fuze, Samuel, Tony Eddicott for donating!

Personally, I didn’t know anyone with MS but a quick survey among my friends and everyone knew someone. I researched and I was saddened.

Everyone knows that I try to do a Breast Cancer Awareness charity every year but MS is now going to be added to that list. If you want to donate (any little bit counts), you can do so by going here: http://bit.ly/ClimbForMS

This money doesn’t go to me directly but it goes to patients.

“The National Multiple Sclerosis Society will use funds collected from Climb to the Top to not only support research for a cure tomorrow, but also to provide programs which address the needs of people living with MS today. Because we choose to climb for those who sometimes can’t, because we choose to donate to Climb to the Top, we are getting closer to the hour when no one will have to hear the words, ‘You have MS.’”

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I was finally able to do a few tests with the inkling so here’s one that came out pretty decently (if you noticed from the original it lost the earrings that I sketched in last minute):

I like that I can export it into Photoshop, Sketchbook pro and Illustrator. Not only that, I can replay my sketch!

Here’s a quick video that I did with the player:

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I hope to post some more soon after I’ve spent time mastering it.

It’s a container to contain my containers haha.

I built it with my powertools and used my handsaw that I got from Home Depot . The parts are from recycled parts from under my IKEA bedframe and an old college tv stand.

So, it even has wheels…

January
I started the year training for a half marathon. I was a running machine! I remember going further than I had with each passing week and I felt so accomplished! I was also freelancing and enjoying every moment of it.

I learned how to make chili.

I loved the city even more after coming to terms of being single. I also realized that my friendships were forever changing. It still is.
February
I had some life lessons immediately this month. I was able to gain another year and I think I got smarter. I started adding value to friendships. I did more painting this year than any other year because I was experimenting:

I also went to see the Harlem Globe Trotters for my birthday. The get together that I planned was fantastic but I realized I would have a better time traveling for my birthday from now on.
March

I was up to running 10 miles by March.

I was also taking Spanish (end of the year: I don’t think I’m any better than Spanish than before)

I was also still painting:

I did “hand modeling” for an NYC subway ad.
April

I booked a trip to my country after 15 years because I realized that I could afford it.

I gave up Netflix and Cable completely (even if I hadn’t turned on Cable in years I tried it again for a month).

I also did more painting and I tried hot yoga for the first time and loved it. I do want to try it again.
May

I rode a motorcycle:

It had been a year since I lost my job at Aviary. Everything went uphill from since that day. I joined the Cement Bloc as a Senior Art Director in digital. I still love it.

The ads that I modeled for went up:

I ran my very first Half Marathon! I’m still just a half marathoner but I felt great to have achieved that status:

Bib: 1739
Overall place: 3566
Gender Place: 1366
Age place: 476
Finish Time: 2:04:21
Pace: 9:29
AG gender place: 1561
AG%: 52.9%

I did loathe myself for getting injured at mile 7 and walking/limping all the way to the finish line. However, the point is… I finished.

I went to St. Croix to visit my parents and met my youngest sister for the first time:

June

Immediately after, I took a trip to Dominica after 15 years. It was absolutely amazing. I met family, ate good food, rethought my religion and achieved clarity.

I also was blessed with a new niece.

I started slacking off with my blogging since I started working fulltime.

July

I got so busy taking care of my life and balancing it that I didn’t blog throughout July.

My dad learned how to text (finally!).

I took up tango, which I realized that I absolutely LOVED. I also started the 100 push ups challenge and got a few more boot camp sessions.

I went shooting rifles with Brittany (college friend — it’s incredible that I still have a good time hanging with her when we meet).

I also met Emily Duong who has become an incredible friend throughout the year. Thanks Emily!

I was interviewed about my trip to Dominica after 15 years by Dominica Source.
August

I started reading “Born to Run” which made me feel more like running with each chapter.

I lost my wallet and realized that a company that I worked for earlier was taking money out of my account so we got into a legal battle that got resolved later that year. I became aware that companies can take money out of your account once you have done direct deposit with them. I hope this information helps people later.

I signed up for 23 and me.

I did some new style of art which I enjoyed but never continued

I was looking forward to the 2nd half marathon that I signed up for but hurricane Irene took that goal away from me! Drats!

September
I started this new style of polishing my nails.

I also wrote about my horrible cab experience.

During this month, I got to see my niece for the first time since I was on my way to Adobe Max Conference.
October
I went to L. A. again for the  Adobe Max conference. I also went to Vegas for the first time. It was incredible. I also fostered amazing new friendships.

I made Artist training cards for the first time at Gardenia’s party:

I came back and made my Halloween outfit.

November

I didn’t blog at all mostly because I was resolving what occurred with the company that took money from my bank account in August. When it was finally resolved, I continued with my life absolutely loathing that I can’t write about what ended up happening.

I learned how to solve the Rubik’s cube:

December

I came to terms with a lot of things. Now, I just want to keep thinking like this into the new year. I have too much to lose now and I hate how that feels.

I also bought way too many Apple/Mac devices this year (I did mourn the passing of Steve Job’s passing although a day earlier I was angered by Apple interrupting the Adobe Max Conference announcement just to announce the new iPhone).

I think 2012 can only be as good as I handle each situation. So, with that said, “May the best days of 2011 be the worse days of 2012!” Happy New Year!

I tried to skip out of gifting this year so I’m really sorry if you didn’t receive cards/gifts from me. Thank you for those who sent me things, I will keep that in mind for when your birthday occurs god-willing in 2012.

Anyway, here’s my Christmas in photos:

I received a giftcard from Adobe in the mail. I need to figure out what I will purchase. It made my day when I returned from work on Thursday.

I felt an amazing sense of accomplishment when I finally completed these paintings for my room.

Then I realized that I had to update my Google TV. I’ve been ignoring it for weeks. Remember they added new features that I wrote about here.

I had finally completed the Advent Calendar that Arne gave me at the beginning of the month before he visited

Some ingredients for Coquito that I purchased to make during Christmas Eve Dinner.

Arne made a delicious Parsnip and pea soup and baked some squash…

Which turned out like this.

Our salad was also incredible, parsley and tomatoes.

The Coquito was perfect! Thanks Sam! I actually added some Bacardi and Cruzan rum to it so, let’s say it was EXTRA strong.

This was the main course.

Prior to the course, I got a gift. It was a book, “Super Sad True Love Story.” If you want to know what I think about it, you’d have to follow my goodreads.

Christmas Eve Dinner was a success! I also did some more self evaluating.

On Christmas day, I went over to Gardenia’s but not before making:

Some leftover salad went well with the breakfast made with that shake that I usually make in the morning thanks to Noel!

I also got a cute Christmas photo of one of my nieces.

My contribution was Apple Pie and Coquito but Gardenia and friends had already made muffins, tamale pies and yummy pozole.

Pozole!

The Coquito was once again a hit.

I’m embarrassed to say that this, but this was the first time that I played Clue but it was fun playing it while watching the movie.

Of course, what’s better than the Princess Bride with R. O. U. S

Other movies such as A Christmas Story was also played.

That was the roundup! Hope your Christmas was just as good.

I used purple and yellow hues to compliment the colors in my bedroom.

To add something signature, I decided to make it glow under black light. I know, abit creepy but a fun twist.

I love Black Light Paint, this is the finish product:

To be honest, I loved the progression before applying the lines but nonetheless, it’s now a great addition to my bedroom walls.

The black light makes it a little ghouly and fun.

I thought it was abit rushed but people loved it around work. The task was to draw something that represented how we celebrated the holidays. Naturally, I took to designing something with Mocko Jumbies representing island life. I miss St. Croix.

The cards were hung around the office. They also took photos of them for the website. This is the finished website. Check it out and share.

Happy Holidays from the cement boc.

I’ve had quite a few years of experience in life in general and it’s like I learn something significant each year or few months where I literally want to smack myself from realizing before… But as they say, hindsight is 20/20.

For example, it took me years and months to get over relationships before realizing one day that the guy I had fallen in love with wasn’t the same guy I fell in love with initially. In my fluidity I had changed and moved on. However, doesn’t seem like he had. Of course I’m speculating but I’m only mentioning this because someone told me of a snarky commentary that my ex of 3 years ago made some weeks before this entry… On Facebook. You know how I feel about Facebook privacy. It was interesting to reflect on, I decided to send a message and ask him kindly to discontinue. Apparently if he was happier about his decisions he wouldn’t have anything bad to say about me because I’m an angel — really. The fact that NYC is such a vast city, there’s simply no reason for him to mention me at all, right?

I’m pretty proud of myself for being really calm about situations I get involved with lately. I took 3 years off to not lose myself, somehow finding myself in other quite challenging situations (not relationship related thankfully) that essentially helped me grow up. I had to give up friendships all the while attempting to make a name for myself with a new job where I’m pushing the almost 80 hour work week. I’m surprisingly enjoying myself despite the crankiness from lack of exercise and proper diet…

Another factor that I realized restricted the “freedom of speech” right that I was privileged since I naturalized in this country. Somehow it doesn’t apply with binding documents such as settlements and I truly wish that I could share exactly what transpired over the past months that hindered me from sharing each step of my fantastic lawyer and I coming to terms with someone on my blog… *breathe* The words exchanged prompted me to realize that essentially mid 30s isn’t synonymous to being grown up. I was completely appalled at the way some meetings were handled and discussions with my lawyer, it didn’t seem professional and frankly, I’m excited to put this ordeal in the past… Six more months to go.

It was quite an interesting scenario where some privacy was violated on their parts. I’d never felt so vulnerable before but I’m thankful that I had a lawyer to take care of it.

Moving forward, I’m writing. I’ve finally gotten a few title ideas but decided to write under a pseudonym so I can’t share that part of my life. Can you believe that I’m censoring myself? I always figured that many people might find that aspect of my life fascinating since I hoped that I seem very vanilla(my friends know that I’m not) in everything that I do. Will keep you posted on all my projects.

Here’s what’s in store according to the email:

“The interface is now much simpler. The new customizable home screen gets you to your favorite content quickly. And within “all apps” you can see all of your shortcuts, similar to your Android phone or tablet.”

This is exciting news because I did find it abit complicated when I use other devices then try using the Google TV interface.

“We’ve improved search across the board for content from live TV, Netflix, YouTube, HBO GO, and more. But what if you don’t know what to search for? There’s now an app called “TV & Movies” that let’s you easily browse through 80,000 movies and TV episodes across cable or satellite, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, and many other sites. If you’ve opted in to recommendations, we can better predict what you want to watch next.”

Perfect! I will actually have to reactivate my Netflix for this and I’m actually ok with that if it’s a lot simpler to use.

“We’re launching a new YouTube experience specifically built for Google TV. It is now fast and easy to get to your favorite HD-quality YouTube entertainment. And we’ve integrated YouTube more closely with Google TV search, so that you can turn virtually any topic – mountain biking, cooking, etc. – into a channel.”

Fantastic! Also, mine use to freeze so I’m curious to see this upgrade specifically.

“We are opening up the TV to the creativity of content creators large and small through Android Market. Android developers can now bring existing mobile apps or entirely new ones to TV. Initially, the number of apps won’t be large – for example, apps requiring a touch screen, GPS, or telephony won’t show up – but 50 developers have seeded the Market with some cool and useful apps for the TV. We’re excited to see the number of apps grow.”

Sweet! I see a potential project in the works!

(image source on Corbis)
It was possibly near finals and I  out because of deadlines, not eating right and was sleep deprived. I finally had the opportunity at that time to nap between classes so I went home and passed out on my futon. I had hardly rested for 5 minutes when a woman opened my bedroom door. My roommate wasn’t home so I wasn’t sure how she got in.

“How did you get in?”
No answer.

“Get out!”
She continued to walk towards me. I tried to get off the futon and my body remained immobile.

“Get the fuck out of my room!” I started panicking but I couldn’t move my arms to push myself off the futon. My legs wouldn’t move either.

Then I woke up. The woman was nowhere to be found.

Ok, that was weird.

Story number two:

I started sleeping upside down on my king-sized bed because there’s a draft near my
window where my head usually is (I’ve moved my bed after this occurrence). I was exhausted. I had run 11 miles over the
weekend and worked out like a madwoman at the gym. I had two boot camp sessions
where I was proactive and ran 2 miles to get to each morning. Not only that, I had
changed my diet and I’m still getting used to it. Needless to say, I was knocked out immediately after getting cozy within my blankets.

Then…

There was a presence in my room. For some reason, I interacted with it. I found it odd but I wasn’t afraid. I don’t remember what it did but I didn’t trust it after a few minutes so I tried to wake up. I did but I realized the presence was still there. I wasn’t awake yet. I tried waking up again.

I did.

“That was weird.”

I was exhausted so I tried falling back to sleep. I was knocked out again.

The presence was waiting for me. There was some interaction again that I couldn’t remember. I realize that it wasn’t going away.

“Ugh you’re not real!”

I woke up. It was still there. I tried waking again.

Ok something was extremely bizarre. Well, three times a charm. I tried snoozing one more time.

It got worse.

As soon as I got back into the deep sleep, I was whisked away in a complicated scene worse than the prior experiences. However, I was immobile. I noticed that I was still in
my bed. I heard footsteps in the darkness and a voice called out: “Is anyone in here?”

(source of image on Corbis)

Beams of light started the appear. Seemed like a fire it was really bright but not as bright as my bedroom light.

I tried to wake up. It didn’t work.

I tried again. Back in reality. I reached over, grabbed my phone and called Noel.

Next day, I retold the story to my friend Emily. She said she had experienced sleep paralysis before. I researched it. Seems like my crazy activities over the weekend including visiting the planetarium where I theorized that there might be another  earth somewhere in the galaxy might have triggered my nightmare. Mystery solved.

Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis?

What is sleep paralysis?

Sleep paralysis consists of a period of inability to perform voluntary movements either at sleep onset (called hypnogogic or predormital form) or upon awakening (called hypnopompic or postdormtal form).

Sleep paralysis may also be referred to as isolated sleep paralysis, familial sleep paralysis, hynogogic or hypnopompic paralysis, predormital or postdormital paralysis

What are the symptoms?

• A complaint of inability to move the trunk or limbs at sleep onset or upon awakening
• Presence of brief episodes of partial or complete skeletal muscle paralysis
• Episodes can be associated with hypnagogic hallucinations or dream-like mentation (act or use of the brain)

In some cases, when hypnogogic hallucinations are present, people feel that someone is in the room with them, some experience the feeling that someone or something is sitting on their chest and they feel impending death and suffocation. That has been called the “Hag Phenomena” and has been happening to people over the centuries. These things cause people much anxiety and terror, but there is no physical harm.

You may be able to minimize the episodes by following good sleep hygiene:

• getting enough sleep
• reduce stress
• exercise regularly (but not too close to bedtime)
• keep a regular sleep schedule

(Source)

—

This also seems to be hereditary… that explains the folklore I’ve heard while growing up.

I’m very happy that I came across this campaign. I think halloween is no excuse to dress up in someone else’s cultural identity to depict stereotypes. It’s not ok.

In these posters:

One poster shows a young Arab-American man holding up an image of a Halloween reveller wearing Arabic dress and a suicide bombers vest.

Another shows a Native American man holding a picture of two women with paint on their faces and feathers in their hair holding a sign reading, ‘Me wantum piece [sic]… not war.’

A third poster shows an Asian American woman holding up a picture of a woman dressed as a Japanese geisha girl, with silk kimono and heavy white foundation.

Read more

I read that someone said they need to get a sense of humor but how can anyone find those funny? Yes some of us do joke about cultures here and there but it’s another thing to dress up as the most stereotypical thing to continue ignorance.

A few years ago, I did dress up in a costume that didn’t have anything to do with my culture but, it was highlighting one of the things I love about it (I was a belly dancer).

Think wisely when you choose your costume this Halloween.

Jerlyn

A few months ago Gardenia sent out an invitation for us to make artist trading cards.

I’ve never done this before but I love crafts .

I accepted the invitation and today I gathered my glue, paper, sharpies, shears, scrap book paper and went over.

Of course we had wine to get the creativity thinking going. Here’s what we ended up with:

Have you ever made any? Send me a few photos: jerlynthomas[at]gmail.com I’d love to see!

Or view entire keynote here.

Adobe Edge
I met Mark Anders (An Adobe Fellow) a few years ago when I first came to Adobe Max. If you don’t know how amazing he is, do a google search. Imagine how completely baffled I was knowing that I had drinks with this guy (well, last year since he was sick this year). I’m happy that he convinced me to come to his session because I’m absolutely using Edge for my next portfolio update. Check it out!

I’m also thankful to another unmentionable Adobe guy M. G. who convinced me to “quit digging into the rabbit hole” and that I should take more sessions I’m Edge this year. I’m truly fortunate to have these folks in my life and they loved my hairdo haha.

Also thanks to @asciibn for introducing me to these amazing folks and convincing me to attend yearly.

Future of Flash
It seemed like Adobe didn’t really want to focus in flash this year but they did remain quit supportive, which is all that I ask. Besides, because we see things in multiscreen these days, I think flash is completely capable of living in certain experiences.

Digital publishing
For just $395, you can publish your own book, magazine etc. Is Design Lady NYC the next huge magazine? Youbetcha!

Stay tuned…

Sure, this is old news but if you had concern about your privacy before, here’s even more reason to be concerned. With face books new “frictionless” sharing it follows you all over the web. Whether it’s by sharing what you love on Spotify or any article you read it’s going to be difficult for your activities to be completely hidden.

Unfortunately, logging off won’t matter because the activity on your browser from the last person who logged on will be aggregated making it not so difficult for them to figure out who is using a specific browser. Many of you know that this data isn’t very difficult to track. Even if you decided never to join Facebook it doesn’t matter, that data is also tracked. We still don’t know what Facebook does with this data unfortunately because there’s no transparency (you should be afraid).

My friends don’t need to know all the shows that I watch on hulu or which articles I’m into. Personally, I don’t like this — which is strange for me to say since I’m used to sharing almost anything. However, my choice to share was still my choice. Sure, you have to allow access to your account before Washington Post displays your activity without you knowing but what if you come across an article that you don’t really want people to know you read? For example, I have a few guilty pleasure shows that I enjoy. A few weeks ago I realized when I subscribed to a show on hulu  it appeared in my activity feed. I was concerned because I watch these shows on my own time, in my leisure in my apartment. I can browse to any of them and press play. When I subscribe to something, it might be a show which contents might not be for everyone on my friendslist. I didn’t recommend the show!

Also, what if I’m really into reading about Justin Bieber and Britney Spears — I feel like it would be embarrassing for some of my friends to know this. The ability to limit the sharing also isn’t intuitive (I didn’t notice my hulu activity shared until I looked at a comment). Also, even if I have restricted my sharing to just a few friends, those friends can share what I read to outer circles/groups that I have limited (uncool especially if you have concerns about your activities helping you gain employment).

Don’t go causing a ruckus now, but “All hail Facebook?” — it’s actually our fault. In 2008, Americans spent 2% of their time on Facebook. Today, it’s up to 16%. By 2015, it’s possible that this number could increase to 100%.

If you want privacy, just don’t do it will logged into facebook. I’ve actually started using it only on my iPad or cellphone.’

(By the way, now don’t think this is only Facebook, Twitter’s tweet button and Google’s +1 button does the same. )

While you’re here though, click the “like” button below. I want some of that percentage of activity that facebook gets .

On Friday the night ended at 4am ( Now, I know that I’m not getting younger so I hardly do this anymore. Especially since I’m trying to save myself some money However, Emily invited me out and it was a really fun night. I went out to one of my favorite Indian restaurant (Haveli) before meeting her and Joelle at Ayza then we went to Kyochon and then to K2 where we sang for hours!!!!)

Time passed by and at 4am I tried to get a cab in K Town.

Though skeptical about taking  a cab in the first place, I flagged down the first one.

“Where are you going?” he asked without letting me get in. I proceeded to open the door, I know how these people work. He locked it.

I moved on to another cab. Same question and reaction: destination question and locked door. I decided to try another. Emily told him that I was going to Union Square.

“Do you have cash or card? Where are you going?”

I’d rather not lie, but that got me into the back seat and I told him my location in Brooklyn and I will be paying with my card. He frowned and started making excuses. Cabbies always make excuses about going to Brooklyn.

My shift ends at 5 he says and I get charged if I bring the cab back after 5am. Blah blah blah… I told him, “Look, would you prefer dropping me off at the nearest train and I can report you later today? Legally you have to take me anywhere that I need to go within NYC.”

He assured me that he didn’t and I suddenly regretted not taking down the number plates of the previous cabs that told me no. He explained the charges, the 12 hour shifts that you’re not supposed to go over and “off duty” signals that I need to look out for.

“Take a cab before 4am,” he scolded, “Do you know how to get there, is it going to take less than 20 minutes?”

“Look sir, I don’t usually stay out until 4am, I’m asking you to take me to my destination, I have money and I’m paying you. You shouldn’t be complaining. I decided to take a cab because I feel like I would prefer to get safely to my apartment to sleep. I’m exhausted.”

Why was I reasoning with him? Wasn’t I paying for service? Why pick someone up if you’re getting off duty soon?

“We drivers deal with lots if things at night: drunk people, people who don’t pay etc”

I was getting annoyed, “well, I’m sober and I have money to pay for this ride.”

Eventually we changed the topic and I asked him how much does one get charged for bringing the cab back late. “10 dollars,” he said. I’m so gullible, I kept the price in mind.

He finally relaxed about taking me home and got into conversations such as who lived with and where I was from. Then he asked why I was single which I assumed he put together because I lived alone? He told me about moving from Canada, never going off to college and how becoming a cab driver took over his life. He explained how it’s a trap and the long days and holidays that he can’t take off. He also pointed out new taxi cabs and explained which ones can get stuck in the snow. All intriguing to my curious mind of course. When he  pulled up closer to my apartment he came to the epiphany that we are all in NYC to make it and everyone has their troubles.
I paid as usual and tipped him (I always try to tip well because I know going really out to my apartment can be an inconvenience to cab drivers since they might not get passenger back however, YOU DO NOT EVER NEED TO TIP FOR POOR SERVICE). I proceeded to hand him a 10 in my gullibility.

“Oh, no it’s not necessary,” he said.
“but, don’t you get charged for getting back late?”
“Oh, I was just kidding with you,”

I grabbed my bags, got out and cursed under my breath.

“Got to research on cab rides in NYC.”

Some things you should know:

“Taxi drivers are not permitted to refuse service, because they do not know how to reach a destination.  They must consult their 5-borough map to identify the best route to any destination within the 5 boroughs.”

“According to the Taxi and Limousine Commission rules, drivers are not allowed to use cellular phones or any communication device, hands free or otherwise, while operating a cab. ”

“It is against the law to refuse a person based on race, disability, or a destination in New York City. A taxicab driver is required to drive a passenger to any destination in the five boroughs.  You can make a refusal complaint by calling 3-1-1. ”

As a taxi rider, you have the right to:

• A driver who has and uses E-ZPass at all toll crossings that accept it, and who charges passengers the discounted E-Z Pass rate;
• Pay for your ride with credit/debit card;
• Go to any destination in NYC, Westchester, Nassau, or Newark Airport;
• Direct the route taken: The most direct route or one of your choice;
• A safe and courteous driver who obeys all traffic laws;
• A knowledgeable driver who speaks English and knows City geography;
• Air conditioning or heat on request;
• A noise free trip: no horn honking or radio;
• Clean air. smoke and scent free air;
• Working seatbelts for all passengers;
• A clean taxicab: interior, exterior and partition;
• Be accompanied by a service animal;
• A driver who does not use a cell phone while driving (hand-held or hands free);

To get this look, I tried this combination:

A base coat of clear polish (any that you wish)
Two coats of Sephora by OPI ‘Skinny Jeans’

One thick coat of ‘Black Shatter’ by OPI

One generous coat of Sephora by OPI ‘Only Gold for Me’ which works as a top coat.

Voila! New look. Change the base color to anything you wish

Miss Universe is Miss Angola Leila Lopes (Leila Luliana da Costa Vieira Lopes) - I’m not really into pageants but she is absolutely stunning and deserving .

By the way, she’s 5 ft 10 ¹⁄₂ in tall (I’m pretty excited about her height, date of birth and beauty apparently).

She’s currently a business student in Great Britain and this is the very first Angolan Miss Universe!

By the way if you’re in Brooklyn and need a trainer to help you get stronger contact Derrick Benjamin – BodybyDerrick[at]gmail.com | (347) 994-7840. He’s a Kettle Bell Instructor and a certified strength & stamina specialist.

I’m so into making this new meal after getting some supplies from Trader Joe’s last week. It’s the simplest meal that I’ve ever made. All that’s required:

Ingredients
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Asparagus
- Tablespoon of unsalted butter (you can actually not include this at all)
- Tablespoon of olive oil
- Black pepper
- Pinch of salt

Heat skillet, add butter and olive oil
Add onions, mushrooms and asparagus
Cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes, covered.
Season with black pepper and salt and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
Done.

(when I feel like having non-vegetarian I serve it with some chicken tenders mm hmmm… Test it and tell me what you think!)

It’s day 2 after Hurricane Irene. It wasn’t very strong in New York like I was certain it wouldn’t have been however, I took the proper precaution and prepared like I normally would have for any hurricane:

Gathered all my flashlights (all 5 of them), packed an emergency bag (first aid kit included), double-check my canned goods (I always have canned food for an emergency not just this hurricane), store a container with water (if power goes, water won’t pump to certain floors in some building in NYC and I can’t go very long without a shower), charged all my devices, relocated valuables that were too close to windows and wait.

Although many tweets and status updates were about how lame or how ineffective this storm was, many of the people who wrote them weren’t watching the news. A few people died because of Hurricane Irene and although the damage in North Carolina was in the hundred thousands, in Vermont it was near a few million. Many locations flooded and power was lost to a few people, even here in New York City some places haven’t gotten power as yet. The rivers in the city also overflowed and some streets flooded causing some fear in a few folks who had to evacuated from those zones. Although Irene was a Category 1 storm (I’ve been through a Category 5 before), it wasn’t a storm to reckoned with. Hopefully if NYC has this experience again it will run just as smooth.

Yesterday was quite interesting commuting. The trains were emptier than normal and many people worked from home at  my job so when I got in the work day was slower than normal.

In all, how to survive a hurricane? Shut down the MTA service and force people to stay indoors: I got a great deal of work done (like cleaning my apartment) and had a very nice “staycation.” A few tree branches unfortunately fell a few street over from my street crushing a few cars however thankfully nothing happened to anyone.

How was your hurricane experience?

I’m writing this post in the middle of it and nothing crazy is happening so far but I spent all day cleaning my apartment and sorting my art supplies. I got inspired and decided to draw food that I have had on my desk.

Some of my Sharpies

My Touch Colors, micropens and Prismacolors

Grilled Veggies

Balsamic Chicken & Avocado Sandwich

Jerk Chicken

I kind of like this project. I know there’s no particular style right now but I’d love to continue drawing them.

Anyway, I hope that I’ll be posting after Irene. I’ve been through many hurricanes but all in the Caribbean. Quite curious to see what happens in NYC.

In entertainment daily a la Jade: I seem to have indirectly got into some legal issues. Yes I’ve got an attorney and I can’t wait to be able to write about everything. It’s been a long time coming and I couldn’t blog about it last year when this nightmare first started but a year later hopefully the way they handled this goes against the agreement that we first had about not taking this to the WWW.
I hate the internet sometimes and I hate tell-alls but I believe in good karma and last year the dream that I had turned into a crazy nightmare. This nightmare  ultimately changed my life and made me lose trust in people that mattered. I still think I’m a good person who does my own thing that doesn’t interfere with other peoples lives. I thought a year later I would never had anything ever to do with this particular company ever again and now its almost like its a deliberate move to harm my well being. I promised not to go into details for the next few weeks until everything is settled and hopefully I will be able to in the end. The difference between the person that I am today and last year is: I’m a great deal stronger and I will not be pushed over or be slandered.  In the meantime, feel free to call and ask if you have my number.

Back to the  10 miler: I haven’t been running as frequently as I should and I did feel like I wasn’t ready for the JackRabbit and Active.com 10 mile race. We had to run 3 times around prospect park in remembrance of the Battle of Brooklyn the largest battle of the Revolutionary war 235 years ago… The beast of the hill in Prospect Park had a “time your climb” marker that should let me know how fast I went up each time. Every mile and a half there was a water station (that also provided power gels). I always got some water especially to wash my face.

When I ran the first loop I realized that I unfortunately had to urinate ( I know TMI but bear with me).   When I came around to some porta potties I figured I would never be able to carry this much liquid for the next 7 miles so I gave in. The potty was gross but I was able to relieve myself then I proceeded *shudders*. It was a great real easier to focus on my breathing and the mantra from the book Born to Run which says “Easy, Light, Smooth and Fast.” I was going about 6 minute miles but realized I would never keep that up going uphill – downhill was a breeze. Also, I was doing something idiotic:

I have brand new Nike Frees… Never ran in them but I took them with me this morning. I also forgot my knee support and Nike plus receiver. The frees were great. I almost bought new Vibrams Bikila but I just needed something light with soles… the Frees will do. Maybe that’s why I had no injury?

I’m a mess. What a mess. Next time, I should train in new shoes before I run actual races.

I finished in approximately 1 hour 36 minutes according to my Garmin watch – will have to get Jackrabbit’s results. While running, I used three people as my pacers. I realized this works very well in those races. In the end, I ran past my last pacer for the last .5 miles. It was a rush!

Next up: Bronx Half Marathon. Meh, I can do it.

The “Weight thing”

It was so difficult for me to reach 100 lbs as a kid (I always remembered being skinny and tall). I remember trying to eat a lot to gain anything. I was 5′ 10″ by the end of high school so having a lean frame allowed me to develop bad habits like going throughout college eating for two people.

Pretty Disgusting! (This was also followed with an icecream bar or two)

Anyway, the above is  me at senior year of high school, my exercise consisted of typing programming code languages and eating anything.

I was a mere 130 something pounds and I went off to college, possibly gaining another 10 lbs finally.

It was still a fluctuation of 5 lbs yearly, all throughout then and finally I graduated to move to NYC.

Immediately, I thought, “Jackpot!” Only if you’re a fellow a foodie, you can imagine how excited experiencing different cuisines was for me. It’s literally placing me in a candy store — well, there are also candy stores here.

I did start gaining but most of my friends were struggling with body issues incomparable to me so what would someone who was tall and 150ish have to complain about?

Nothing really until…

Fast forward to 2011.

I stopped exercising almost altogether except rack up miles on the track and parks. I could run like nothing but even if I burned 1800 calories a pop on distance, the scale doesn’t change after I noticed a 20ish lb difference.

I trained for a half marathon and that didn’t matter either (see, I don’t run to get slimmer). I did realize alcohol consumption had a lot to do with the weight gain (since it’s the only thing that changed about my diet). I stopped drinking altogether for the half marathon.

What do I do now?

Well, I think diet and exercise is a lifestyle change. Even if I love food, I had to start eating differently. I know, I do post my lunches on my facebook… the food that I usually had will change soon.

I needed to cross train as well. So when I started a new job, I checked out their corporate gym memberships immediately! I got a trainer who made me stronger and after all 8 sessions, I feel my running has improved and I’m able to push myself on my own now.

What many folks don’t realize is, exercise takes commitment. You can’t go on a couple weeks/months and immediately quit once you’ve reached your goal. You have to be able to maintain it. So, my daily routine now includes squats, dips, situps, leg raises and pushups (I’m doing the hundred pushups challenge). I also started tango classes last month and signed up for bootcamp, boxing, pole dancing and belly dancing which I will be redeeming as time  passes and I need new motivators.

I didn’t imagine that I’d ever be able to run the half marathon. I had to work at it, much like I have to work on exercise.

Since the half,  I’ve been able to also run the 5 mile pride race and 10K for Cystic Fibrosis. I have another 10 mile race to run and a half marathon the following week. I’ve been logging miles on the daily mile.com (everyone should join this) – great motivator. Send me a request and I’ll be happy to add you so that I can cheer you on!

Diet

I’ve also started this diet thanks to Miguel Cardona (@miggi)

I’ll keep  you guys  posted if I lose anything but currently my body looks leaner even if the weight is the same.

I realized the other day that most of my laundry has been gym clothes…

I’m basically addicted to exercise these days. I feel better, sleep better, have more energy… Hooray for staying healthy in 2011!

What are you doing for exercise? diet? etc?

On Day 7, my uncle told me that he planted this and wanted me to take a photo of it before I went on my walk. His friend Franklin was going to accompany this time — I was happy to go!

We decided to take the back roads to the beach.

On the way, we saw people planting trees.

I took a photo of this house because of this sign. I was incredibly fascinated by handmade signs as I went around Dominica.

The hike wasn’t that bad and we made it to the beach!

Unfortunately I had no intentions of going in since I wasn’t dressed for the situation:

The Atlantic

Lol sometimes, I understand why so many people do not eat crab — but it’s so delicious!

Looks similar to what was in Pirates of the Caribbean but I think the mangroves were in Honduras…

Then we walked back

When we got back, we looked forward to have a shot and a Guinness… from my grandfather’s bar perfect. Fun fact: My grandfather has had this rum bar since 1959. I thought that was really cool! It’s the same time this house has been around.

I also realized that the Guinness tasted a lot better in Dominica…

Then I realized it was bottled there!

Afterwards, I had lunch… didn’t I mention that my uncle’s an amazing cook? Again, I was completely spoiled!

After I ate, I mentioned to my grandfather that I wanted to go to the river. He talked me out of it… because he thought I would get sick. The older people on the island believe that one must soak in the ocean before entering the river. I told him I wouldn’t go in but I would simply take photos, which I did… I didn’t dare go into the water for fears that I might get sick and I would be scolded — yup, I’m really in my late 20s.

Oh ok, alright — I did cheat a little by putting my foot into the water… I just couldn’t resist. However, I promised myself to fix that situation quickly! I had to soak in the Ocean and soon!

I attended St. Andrews High School when I lived in Dominica but they tore that down and started a new school. It’s believed that it’s because it was a religious school. St. Andrews was Methodist. The new school is called North Eastern Comprehensive, we couldn’t go into the gates but it looked beautiful from outside. I took some photos and we headed back to base.

I realized we walked 7 miles earlier and another mile to the school’s location. In all, it was amazing. I was completely exhausted!

However, I was looking forward to meeting with my cousin to walk the next day! She’s such an inspiration… Will write about her in the next post.

That day, I realized that I could get WIFI on the island! I was so happy I messaged people and skyped! I guess I wasn’t exactly fully unplugged…

6 a. m was early to me but not to others. They had already been up by 5 a. m. and were walking back… my grandfather left for the garden at 4:30 a.m. Oh well, my tardiness didn’t stop me from going on my adventure…

I turned on my Garmin GPS watch and started walking. I ended up walking 4 miles:

I went out and decided to visit the locations I had lived before

From the previous post, I used to walk to school from this house after watching Heman and the Master of the Universe in the morning so I was always late for school… unfortunately the house wasn’t in great condition as it were before…

I walked until I couldn’t recognize where I was and headed back. I met with some familiar faces then saw some things that I used when I was a child to sweep the yard: brooms!

I saw some other signage on my way as well:

At this point, I didn’t know what the phrase “Top Up” meant. However, these were signs from LIME and Digicel the two cellular companies in Dominica.

The other signage I saw was politically driven.

I went up that hill and found the first house that I remembered growing up in (to the left).

It’s a wooden shack that my brother and sister were born in. It’s more run down now unfortunately. I remembered being biten by a centipede when I was probably 2. My memory is so rusty that I’m not sure whether the two houses were part of each other or not.

I walked some more and found the Health Center

(I remembered a nurse who worked here who must have delivered all the babies in the village)

On my way I found coconut cake! Win!

When I returned from my walk, I found something incredible!

Breakfast! From then on, I was spoiled every morning… simply spoiled by my uncle — the chef!

Right after this, I decided to walk to my grandmother’s house since my dad wanted me to meet there. What I didn’t mention was: this trip was also intended to meet someone I hadn’t met before. Another brother.

On my way there, I decided to take photos of my elementary school.

We wore uniforms..

This is the basketball court where I used to practice daily

They were having a sports day so some students were dressed in colors.

When I was in elementary school I wore the yellow team colors.

—

I met with my dad and we got on our way with my aunt to meet my brother. This time, I got the chance to take a closer photo of the sign from the previous entry.

More of the Atlantic

On our way we stopped for something called bamboola which is made out of cassava

When we got into town it reminded me a little of St. Croix.

I found more street signs!

We finally met my brother. He’s actually older than me. We made acquaintance and we all went to get my dad and me cellphones…

which was a downgrade from what I had.

We met cousins randomly about the street! Then dad took my aunt, my brother and me to lunch. We all ordered the same thing:

Goat meal and ginger beer.

After that, we drove across country to meet my sister.

In this order: 3rd, 1st, 2nd– “Papa was a Rolling Stone.” I also got to see my niece for the first time!

We left where my sister lived and dropped by my grandmother again to introduce her to my brother (long story there).

My dad dropped me off at my grandfather’s house after and proceeded back to town where he is staying.

I made plans with Franklin (a friend of my uncle) to go hiking the next day. I made huge plans of waking up early… yeah right.

I want to write these entries to entice you, to bring you into the world that’s mine. I want to encourage you to log into a travel portal and book a ticket to one of the most untouched country in the world. I want to introduce you to the nature island, the isle of beauty and splendor… A country that’s mine and isn’t but for now I will just let you in on what a fabulous time I’ve had.

Day 5

Yes, I’m skipping quite a few but it’s because I sort of ran through st. Croix quickly… To compare: St. Croix is much more lively and connected  however Dominica has more of a laid back experience. The next few days in St. Croix were spent meeting my friends and heading to the beach. Then, just like that, I was in Dominica. I left Sunday June 29th to the Commonwealth of Dominica through Puerto Rico. While in the airport, I didn’t expect to meet anyone that I knew BUT guess what!? I did. I met with Gloria Shillingford, the woman who used to be the Principal of the high school that I attended almost 15 years ago. She said my face looked familiar (but anyone who knows any of my family members usually think we look familiar).

I reminded her of a day when she stopped me at school because she thought that I was wearing make-up. We weren’t allowed since the school was Methodist. However, I have a natural black line around my lips that make it seem as if I wore make-up. She chuckled at the story, then I said very nice to see her and dismissed myself. I had lots of thinking to do before I got on the plane and my anticipation was growing.

As we neared the island memories came rushing back in. I remembered when we took private planes (hated those) between Dominica and St. Croix during the summer when my parents first moved away. The rides were always bumpy and we did dip a little with turbulence (which is expected when you pass through mountainous terrain). I knew I wouldn’t have any internet connection so I just tried to capture as many images as I could to record each memory.

The experience was much different now that I’m naturalized as American. I went to the international line in Melvillehall airport when we landed around 2PM, I got stamped and proceeded to retrieve my bag. I ran into a cousin (I realized that I would be running into quite a bit of relatives all over the island from then on). The room wasn’t very large at all. I walked out to meet my father (I had convinced my dad months before to schedule his trip with mine so he came a day before I did). I welcomed the reunion since I had seen him only nights before in St. Croix with my youngest sister. He was happy to introduce me to some of his friends lingering at the airport (some worked there).

He rented a jeep (right-hand steering since they drive on the left in Dominica just like St. Croix).

I proceeded to the river next to the airport to take some photos. I remembered getting freshwater mollusc when I was younger. They attached themselves to rocks and we would pick them and make delicious meals. I believe that they are bivalves but I might be wrong.

Then my dad and I left the airport to head towards Wesley.

Immediately I started pointing out differences and things I remembered from childhood. There were updated road signs that weren’t there 15 years ago. Being a designer, I couldn’t help but be fascinated by each sign. Unfortunately didn’t get many photos of them:

I think this means left turn or left bend. I do need to do more research on these but beneath the arrow was two cars which most likely meant double lane (the roads are quite narrow on the island so it’s necessary to remind people that they share the road with the vehicles traveling in the opposite direction).

First close views of the Atlantic Ocean in Dominica.

Nearing Londonderry… seeing the banana trees and plastic coverings reminded me of my childhood.

I wasn’t too fond of this sign but I liked that it listed the population. Only 1,700 people? Definitely less packed than NYC!

We drop up to my grandfather’s house where I dropped off my things, said hi to my uncle and tanty who happens to be around 96 years old. Her mother lived to almost 115. There’s a monument celebrating her life in the center of the village:

Typography isn’t their strength but it was great seeing this. I’m sure most of the family is proud. I can’t imagine living through 3 centuries… late 1800s, 1900s to early 2000s — just amazing.

My dad drove to his friend’s house so I took photos overlooking the area:

I was fascinated by some of the wooden houses because next to the concrete buildings, many of these houses stood the test of time through hurricanes ever since I could remember!

Less than an hour into my trip and I got two mangoes from childhood friends Nica and Brady… unfortunately those are the two mangoes that I consumed  on my trip (I know, that’s quite sad).

After awhile, we went on our way to my grandmother’s house. On our way we passed the Catholic burial grounds.

I remember when I lived with my grandparents (age 7-11) I used to be so afraid of the dead that I would run  past the cemetery at dusk when I ran errands… The folklore shared on the island is meant to scare children. It’s almost not fair… however, being agnostic, I can’t help but be fascinated by many of the stories now that I’m older. I will write about some of them later.

This picture was taken on our way when we got close to my elementary school (I didn’t attend kindergarten or daycare), I don’t remember what color it used to be but it seems improved. I did remember the beatings that I got there as a kid for getting in late. I blame Heman and the Masters of the Universe… it always came on in the morning and I couldn’t miss it before I went to school!

We stopped by a childhood friend’s house but she is abroad. However, I saw her sister and her new baby (on this trip, I realized how much I love babies — even if I am unsure of having any).

I have a story of when I had a pet goat… that my dad tried replacing with a sheep. I was 5 years old. I will post it one day but I saw these near my grandmother’s house and I had to post it.

After the brief visit to my grandmother (my dad had to return to his guesthouse in town), I went back to my grandfather’s house where I saw some guys playing basketball. I used to play when I was younger so I changed my clothes and joined them. At the end I was so exhausted, I called it a night…  I hadn’t played basketball in years!

I will write about the upcoming days as soon as I can now that I am back in NYC — I have just been ridiculously occupied!

That’s the 5th day!

XXX

Jerlyn!

This was me yesterday after only 1 hour of sleep. I had spent all night packing. I was hoping to spend the 3 hours from New York to Puerto Rico napping but two kids (one in the seat infront of me and one directly behind of me) kept me up by hitting the seats. Also,  being that I’m a giant… I had no comfortable leg room.

I was thrilled to have a connecting flight to Puerto Rico because, as some of you know, I was taking Spanish for a couple months and I wanted to practice. Unfortunately, the woman who sat in the middle did ask me a question… en espanol… and I took 5 minutes to answer… She asked how long was the flight from JFK to San Juan… lol. Of course, I wanted to respond in full sentences…

I finally got to San Juan after telling the kid behind me “por favor… lo siento… yo quiero duerme. ” No idea if that was right but she stopped kicking for abit.

When I got to San Juan, I had another 3 hours to connect, they announced: We overbooked the flight which fits only 50 people by 14. Will anyone be willing to give up their seat for $200. I decided nope, no way, I’m too sleepy and I have booked this trip too long ago to stop now… besides, I had a hike in the morning.

(Ha, I can tell that power resource and internet is going to be a challenge for this entire trip).

My mom and Laurie picked me up from the airport that afternoon. I was still on very little sleeps so I took it easy that night and crashed for 7 hours.

The next day I went on a hike and invited Laurie. We met with the two Johns.

John B. is like a second dad to me and has  been around since my career started. He’s always been a remarkable inspiration

I started my GPS on the way here and we took the path to the right up ahead near Cramer’s Park.

Immediately John began his tour by telling me what each plant he knew was. It was very fascinating because most of these plants didn’t seem to be here by accident. If you’re aware of this side of the world, you’d learn that the Indians migrated from Asia and came into North and South America, came up the Orinoco river and into the archipelago called the Caribbean. There were many types of indians but the most noted were the Caribs and Arawaks.

My grandmother is a pure Carib Indian and lives in the Reserve in Dominica (I will be seeing her when I take the second part of my trip).

Anyway, the two Johns were great company. John (to the right, we just met yesterday is retired and from PA).

Laurie kept up and went with retired John and completed around 3-4 miles out of the almost 6 miles that John B and I did.

This is the GPS map of the bay that John B and I walked along.

We didn’t go to Point Udall (the most easternmost part of the United States which is the loop on the map) but we walked back to the left back to our starting point.

This is the actual trail.

This was an incredible sense of accomplishment in 90 degree weather.

This is buck island in the distance. John B told me there’s a nice hiking trail there that I might try one day. I used to visit this island when I was younger… I had my very first terrible sun burn there.

We found a soldier crab on the trail… Memories of Dominica came back: We used to catch alot of those things along the beaches near the Atlantic in Dominica.

This is a type of plant used to catch fish… the indians most likely broke them and placed them in the water and fish came up to the surface.

This is an endangered plant that grows on the island. This is the only place it grows naturally.

I forgot the name of this cactus but there’s a religiously safe name and another that sounds quite phallic. It’s supposed to be good for hair.

A marker.

I changed into my Vibrams to walk on the shore.

This doesn’t seem to be from the island, John thinks it drifted from another island.

These oddly shaped cactus has a pink fruit.

We ate it and it tasted similar to another plant that I’ve had before.

Finally took a toll on Laurie, so she had to catch a breath.

Nothing can stop me! I did get a tan haha.

Sense of accomplishment!

We went to Mahi’s because we deserved an ice-cold beer.

I happily tweeted my view at the moment.

I was impressed at the bartender’s lime slicking skills but I had to leave since John had to catch a flight. So, Laurie and I went back to the Palms to have lunch.

While there, I saw an iguana (I used to have this in Dominica). Some of you don’t know this but roasted iguana tastes just like chicken.

However, Laurie and I had BBQ ribs, plantains, rice and corn for lunch.

Then I took a quick visit to my highschool: The St. Croix educational complex… It was great meeting past teachers but there’s some political things going on with the current Principal (which makes me quite sad). I met with my art teacher and I gave his current students a pep talk.

After that, I was so beat, I stayed home for the rest of the night but not before I met with my new half sister.

Jerlyn & Kerlyn (it’s interesting having a half sister this young because our lives are incredibly different however she’s really funny and as adorable as a typical 3 year old).

Distance: 13.1 Miles, 21.1 Kilometers
Date/Time: May 21, 2011, 7:00 a.m.
Location: Prospect Park to Coney Island, Brooklyn NYC
Weather: 55 Degrees, 96% Humidity, Wind 5MPH.

I could barely run one mile without stopping when I first started running. However, over the weekend, I did it. I ran the Brooklyn half marathon.

Unfortunately my knee started hurting at mile 9 (this was definitely my fault). I’m really feeling it post race while walking up and down the stairs of the train stations. Before I run a race again, I’m going to have this checked out. I believe it’s my fault because I’ve been sleeping on barely 4 hours all week. Friday night I did it again.

Anyway, desperate to complete the half, I decided to limp/run all the way. It made stopping for water very difficult because every time I slowed down, it would hurt to start speeding up again. I sucked it up (I would have stopped if it only were only training).

I really pushed it and when I turned the last corner after the 12th mile, I just heard people saying, “it’s not too far now.”

“Not too far” felt like a long time and as I crossed the 13th mile and saw the finish line in the distance I leapt forward with all I had and broke into tears at finish… I swear I’m super dramatic lol.

My Garmin said that I ran it in 2 hours 5 minutes but my Nike+ says I did 14.73 miles.

I guess since Nike measures my steps without GPS it might be accurate because I did a lot of zig zagging however, the NYRR results is what I’ll go by for now:

Bib: 1739
Overall place: 3566
Gender Place: 1366
Age place: 476
Finish Time: 2:04:21
Pace: 9:29
AG gender place: 1561
AG%: 52.9%

My goal was to make it under 2 hours, technically I would  have if it wasn’t for my knee so, I think I did well for my first half marathon. I realized though, I do give myself a hard time in order to do great and love to continually challenge my body and my mind. I tend to fail to realize sometimes that I have certainly came a long way with running. I remember when I could barely do a 5K and a couple of years back I ran on a day when I was sick — making it the most difficult race thus far. I did a 10K and did well (around 50 minutes), and now I’m running close to 14 miles. From hardly being able to do a mile without stopping on the treadmill to averaging 8 miles. The body is an incredible machine.

This race was a major adrenaline rush and I’m so happy for all the support that I received from friends. Next… triathlon? St. Croix Half Iron Man? Let’s do this!

Oh yah — I have a new job. I’m currently a senior digital art director at my new job. I love it so far. It’s busy and um, they do make me work for the money haha. It’s only been two weeks and I’m so busy that I leave work late BUT the work is consistent so my day flies by. Thus, I don’t feel like I’m doing busy work. Yes, back to full-time and responsibilities.

I have good and bad stories of freelancing but full-time for now, will help me grow in this field.

I also had to grow up and although this is a small damper on my social life (and dating lol). I will be leaving for vacation this time next week. Lots of time to myself without the internet (maybe).

I didn’t think that my life would get so busy so quickly. I’m also running the half marathon this weekend!

Dear younger self, Remember when you thought that you were stressed out? You really weren’t. So, apologize.

I will certainly try my best to blog while away but most likely it will only be when I have an Internet connection. I don’t know what to expect when I return to my country. 15 days!

What was I thinking? I might get bored out of my mind! Just kidding! Unfortunately I have an incredible amount of reflecting to do this time around. I will definitely bask in the sun and enjoy piña coladas like I deserve. It’s been quite a stressful year of deciding which direction I want to go.  I’m quite content right now but it’s time for setting some other goals.

Anyway, while away, I will compare and contrast my life from when I lived in the Caribbean as Dominican to now, American and my bittersweet struggle.

Stay tuned…

There’s currently this ad with my hand at 1st ave on the L train stop (that I know of). Thanks Amy Ward for the photos! The photographer is Emiliano Granado, whose portfolio blew me away. He’s incredibly talented. The art director is pretty low key so I have no website to link to.

Other news:

I started a new job today. I hope it works out. I’m now a senior art director. I left Organic, inc last week. It has definitely been the best place that I’ve ever worked. The people were amazing and I will miss those beer bashes! Such wonderful memories… By the way, remember that this time last year I lost my job with Aviary? I haven’t been on their site for awhile. However, I think I lucked out because only great stuff since then thankfully (knock on wood) so let’s hope that this new position transitions well. The people are nice so far and I really value people who appreciate you and love hard work. I do find it funny that I’ve just started and I’m already involved in a pitch! I just need to force myself out of bed in the mornings!

Last week:

I tried hot yoga with Ibeliz. I probably lost 4 lbs from sweating! I am also back on track for the half marathon training and did 11 miles on Sunday. Even if I took a new route, it still went under 13 miles so I will try again next weekend hopefully without the sun.

{click photo for blog credited for  photo}

This past weekend:

I went on a motorcycle ride ! This was right after watching Fast Five with Jackson (who used to be my college roommate). The bike ride was exhilarating (and rightfully timed). I wish that my helmet didn’t keep hitting into Ryan lol but I’d certainly love to try again!

Thanks Ryan for helping me with more firsts!

Other than that:

I’m just counting down to my vacation! I have no idea how the next few weeks are going to go. I’m just pretty psyched about the changes in my life right now. I’ve been blessed so far, I just wish I knew exactly what the future held (but don’t we all?)

Also, my spanish classes are going well… it’s difficult but I’m keeping up. I hope to be fluent one day!

Don’t worry, next time it will be something more colorful and “spring.”

There, I said it.

Thanks to foursquare, I’ve visited venues that I would usually not go to, try new food, discovered deals, met incredible people —  all this from my mobile app.

All of those aren’t terrible results right? Wrong.

For the past year that I’ve been using foursquare, I’ve had this abnormal desire to always remain mayor. Working in advertising, I should have been extremely aware of the psychology behind this, however I’ve only recently paid close attention to what foursquare has been doing to my mind — and to my soul.

The Day that I got “ousted.”

I was mayor of most of the venues in my neighborhood. The day that I got ousted out of majority of those venues, I checked the profile of the owner and realized that she was mayor of over 40 venues. I realized that she had a bigger problem than me when I checked the names of the venues. I’m certain that “My House,” “My Home,” “Chateau de moi,” and “Mi Casa” are all the same locations. I shouldn’t have been shocked since I’m aware that people check into bathrooms of buildings or conference rooms. I had a slight disappointment then I shrugged it off since the venues didn’t  improve my life in any way.

Rewards

It’s pretty nice to get a small discount when I check into Maoz between certain hours. I know that the Victoria Secret deal is fake and Payless had a pretty good deal if I spent $25. Once, I even got a pack of cards because I check in. However, the benefits of being mayor doesn’t outweigh the time and, shockingly, the money, to continue your reign. If these people are indeed heading to these venues to purchase things on a daily basis to retain mayorship, depending on the venue’s popularity, it might be fair to say that they waste most of their time. Or, everyone knows they are cheating right?

I still think that I have a problem, though minor. Foursquare recently updated and introduced a feature that tells you how many days until you have your mayorship back. Sometimes when I check into places where I once was mayor and it alerts the days until  I regain “the position,” I consider going back the next day to check-in, just in case. A coworker asked me to stop checking in for 9 days so that he could become mayor of our company. Since I will be starting a new job soon, he’ll get it, until then, I’m King – um, I mean mayor. I realized that this has also affect other venues when I take vacation. I made peace with the fact that I might lose most of my mayorship. After all, I’m about to travel soon and how long is it going to take to lose those few venues that I check in on a daily basis?

Heh… Well, .

With that said, I’m single .

Now, I read less. I am very aware that television is by far my biggest distraction. Ironically, I decided to install cable on a trial basis for 30 days. Already, I am unimpressed.

Prior to this, I had Netflix and Hulu (well, I still have them). However, once I downgrade from cable back to Netflix, I am going to put it on hold for a while while I read in my past-time. I have surrounded myself with so much distractions that I sleep less when I could change those habits. For example, I watch the Netflix movies as soon as possible because I want to return them in order to decrease my 500+ queue.

I think I’m going to give it up altogether.

I’ll save $15.00 that I pay monthly for Netflix and only pay the tooth-pulling price of $50.00 that I pay for the Internet. Expenses down and I will become more knowledgeable because there are thousands, if not millions, of books that I haven’t read yet.

If anything, I can continue painting.

What do you think? How are you increasing your productivity? Or, Are you as distracted as I am?

Hmmm, only one day? And, just for me?

Well, since I’m playing hooky from work (obviously). I will get my chores done. I know, it sounds lame but I feel super guilty that I barely see my apartment. Even on the weekend I’m not really enjoying it. The thing is, my life in NYC is super busy.  It’s out the door, off to work, back in doors, more work, sleep… repeat or off to be social – to network – to exist. It’s a little more than living to work vs. working to live. At times I take on a great deal of responsibility, although not always required, and this time reflects that.

So with this 24 hour period, I’ll finally get caught up with everything. I will definitely get around to sorting all those clothes & shoes for donation that I’ve been trying to do all year also!

Then, I’ll work on that painting that I started, so that I can actually finish it.

I’ll get caught up with my editorials. Cross some goals off my list and enjoy some well deserved pampering.

I’m sure something greed-related will be added to this list… after all, I’m human *grin.*

I’ll certainly enjoy unplugging from social distractions.

This post is part of Let’s Blog Off. The post was to answer, “If you could stop the world for one day, what would you take the time to do?”
Check below for other participating blogs:

Oh, I didn’t mention: I’m visiting my country of birth after almost 15 years.

Not many of you know that I was born in the “Nature Island of the Caribbean,” also known as the commonwealth of Dominica– not Dominican Republic, and after migrating to los Estados Unidos, I hadn’t been back. Dominica is one of the most untouched islands of the Caribbean spanning 290 sq mi. The population is estimated 72,500, a lot less than New York City (8,175,133 people for it’s 305 square miles). New York City is only 15 square miles larger but we fit that many in it.

The U. S. became my adopted home and is essentially all that I know now. It’s a little unfortunate that I hadn’t been back prior, but monetary circumstances didn’t allow it. Now, a few years into my career, and life, I am ready to see where I once called home.

To be honest, I always imagined that I would have had a family before I returned but going back now to familiarize myself before all this occurs really isn’t a terrible idea. I imagined I would show them, this is where I grew up but a dream ago. However, what best way to keep that connection than to return to my home?

I’m definitely a tourist now. Different passport, an alien nonetheless… Yet, I’m super excited about reconnecting with my grandparents, siblings and niece.

Anyway, I have conveniently scheduled the trip for 15 days (after 15 years) to visit St. Croix and Dominica.
I’m psyched and can’t wait to share that part of my life with you. Let me know whether you’re on either island!

Photo credit: Dominica Island

I posted a photo of my  hand after I left the studio on Facebook (following). The manicurist on staff had painted my fingernails in this gorgeous blue that I had never tried before.

So, I went to Sephora to see if I could find something similar.

I didn’t succeed but here’s something I tried:

I realize that I just need to be bolder about my choices.  Usually I’d use red, black, dark blues… basically darker tones. This spring, I’m excited about breaking out of my shell for something bolder… or out of my usual palette. Talking about palettes, you should check the progress of my painting from the previous post. It looks completely different now:

I’ll post better progression photos (these were taken with my cellphone) but here’s how it all started:

From my sketchbook

To canvas – apparently the woman looks different… I hate transferring mediums sometimes.

Adding some highlights

Added some color

Where I left off…

My digital painting style is much easier I realized… can’t create layers that you can retouch while painting in real life unfortunately.

I do hope to add some depth over the weekend but I’m all over the place with projects.

Who told me to take Spanish classes, dancing, train for a half marathon and a bunch of freelance projects?

No wonder I need a vacation  (I’m trying to go to Dominica after 15 years by the way).

Hope all is well with everyone!

I honestly I do not need to apologize to you dear reader. It’s called having a life and unplugging. I have also been training for a 1/2 marathon. Currently I am at 10 miles which is so amazing to me because only 3 more miles and I’m there! It’s only week 7 (14 more to go). I have a whole back story to this but I’d rather tell you about my Spanish classes.

Yes I should be fluent by now since I took 4 years of Spanish prior. However, I am not. I do have something that prevents me from learning spoken languages and I hope that I get over it. I am already terrible at English itself… Imagine another language and grammar in the mix.

Last weekend I went to barnes and noble and picked up these:

I have also been listening to podcasts:
Coffee break Spanish and Discover Spanish. They both have unique teaching and I enjoy them. Coffee Break Spanish is taught by people in Scotland – which was interesting because they taught Castilian Spanish whereas Discover Spanish touched mostly on Latin America. Both have really fun intro songs that make me excited about learning!

I have the Rosetta Stone also.

I even tried changing my language settings in my iPod.

Anyway, I need practice with native speakers so if you’d like to volunteer definitely contact me (you know because Latinos are scarce in New York *yeah right*). I can’t wait to be comfortable speaking because I love most of Latin American and Spanish culture. Yes, both Salsas included!

Necesito practicar mi español todos los dias - hablo y escribo.

Also new: I’m going to be painting more (so feel free to commission).
I’ve  bought an easel yesterday and I will be painting most of the sketches that I have been doing on the subway including the micropen inkings.

(Enviado desde mi iPod)

When I was in high school and going through what was labeled teenage angst, an employer/adopted dad figure gave me the best advice at the time that changed my life.

Succinct, he said: Be Selfish*.

What? I was confused. My value system didn’t allow me to be selfish. How would I do this? I’m sure somewhere in this thought I can add, “sharing is caring” — right? Well, not exactly. He explained what he meant: I had my heart opened to all and even if I lived my life to please others I seemed to be getting no where. He told me that in order to change my situation, which involved my living situation, I had to do whatever it was to get out. I had to do this based on what I wanted.

With that, over the years I did some pretty selfish things. I left my country when my father disapproved, got an education from an institution that he didn’t understand, took loans to maintain that education, took that job that I wanted (he still doesn’t really know what I do). Choose the career path I wanted. Through the years, I do not regret a thing.

Why?

By being selfish  I was able to connect to many people. Exactly what I wanted to do in the first place. I had to be selfish to put myself in a situation where I can help others. I’ve been able to do this wholeheartedly over the years.

I’m still living life quite selfishly but aren’t all humans selfish anyway? We all have that instinct for survival. There’s one crucial thing that comes up when people meet me: Why do I always seem to be happy? Simply put, I chose to be that way. By the way, remember that someone always have it worse than you do and you really have nothing to complain about if you can’t seek to save yourself.

“Selfishness is not using others, or making them serve you, or removing yourself from people. Selfishness is being primarily interested in your own goals. Selfishness has nothing to do with other people – a selfish person who hurts others is a contradiction in terms. A selfish person is concerned with their self, and has no need to hurt others.“ Learn how to be selfish.

I want to enjoy life to the fullest so when I reflect on it I will be happy about all the memories. Also, by taking care of myself and finding my dreams I can show others that they can do the same. It’s in their control. By the way read my Attaining Happiness post if you’re lost.

*By the way, I do follow the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. So I’m not entirely selfish. I do hate when people compare selfishness to greed though. It’s not the same. I just love me. I care about me. I care that me - the body, hurts. Since if I am unhappy, I might create a negative impact on others. Before I can love someone I have to care about the “I.” The “I” who would love to share that same  happiness that she enjoys daily. With that said, I need to read more Ayn Rand.

istockphoto source

So my last will and testament would be for others to Find Themselves.

I’m sure most people will remember me from my art however, I know many folks who do not know what I do. Do I code? Do I run? Do I cook? Do I sew? Sure, I do all those things. I’m putting no limits to my development.

How do I make things look effortless? Practice and perseverance.

When people read my blog what do they get from it? Is it the fanpage that’s interesting or the nike mini running? Probably it’s my twitter account where I tweet random activities and thoughts during the day?

This is another #LetsBlogOff post and this topic reminds me so much about the obituary post because it makes it more and more apparent that my time on earth is actually limited.

Once again, this topic is quite challenging:

We’ve been thinking a lot about legacy lately. As bloggers, every update we publish adds to our legacies though we’re not so sure most bloggers think of it that way. Think about it though; every post is another graffito carved into the great wide wall that is the internet.

Aside from an electronic legacy, what other ways do you (or anybody for that matter) build and preserve your legacy? What is it with the whole human need for a legacy anyhow? Why is being remembered so important?

In this week’s #letsblogoff, let’s examine the concept of legacy. You are welcome — indeed encouraged — to interpret this theme any way you wish. It’s part of your legacy after all.

I’m hoping that everyone focuses on: how I did it. I attempted to do everything differently.

Not many of you know this but I moved from a foreign country to live in the US. I do have many commonalities with certain outliers – I realize that now. Some of the things I came across was probably fate, luck, or chance. That also goes to wonder whether these things exist. Some people will claim religion, my legacy is to ensure you don’t think it was. Dreaming to live in NYC at age 7, and almost 2 decades later reflecting on it. I’m living a dream. I’m quite fortunate and do continually count my blessing. I never settled for the norm.

As social networks expand I do wonder, when I pass: Will people reread my tweets when I’m gone? Will they set up a memorial with my facebook? Will they have kind things to say?

To be  honest, I had no idea what my legacy will be.

People thought I was smart? People assumed that I knew what I was doing? All I was doing was attempting to find myself.

My legacy would be to pass that on. I want to be remembered just because I don’t want to have lived in vain. I have no money and whatever’s left will be absolved into charities or where my family deems fit so my only advice would be to:

Find yourself and always keep your mind open to the possibility that you might be wrong at times.

Let finding yourself be a life journey.

This year:

It was for the Battle Against Breast Cancer. On the page says:

Hello, and thanks for checking out my Birthday Wish!

For my birthday on February 19th, I’m asking my friends and family for a special gift: help me raise $250 for Battle Against Breast Cancer. It’s a great cause that goes to the Breast Cancer research Foundation.

I chose Battle Against Breast Cancer because I run the Susan B Komen race yearly and believe in it.

Please consider giving to my Birthday Wish, and together we can make the world a better place. If you can’t give now, I’d really appreciate if you’d share this page with your friends.

Thanks so much,

Jerlyn

Go here to donate, I think there’s still time. Currently there’s $179 out of $250. Not bad right?

I haven’t done a what I wore post in awhile. However, to the left is what I wore to go out that night. Unfortunately the beautiful weather dropped about 20 degrees!

I had an incredible time — didn’t go without a little hitch though but in the end I’m happy to be where I am today.

Happy for health, laughter, good people and just living in the city that I dreamt of living in since I was 7 years old.

I’m not sure what else will happen this year but I did a bit of reflecting and I’m  happy to be a little older and wiser.

My dad called me on my birthday and mentioned that he and mom had all three of us kids by my age and I’m still amazed. My parents are quite young.

Remember when I interviewed them in November?

On Friday, I went to Johnny Utahs (where I went with a friend of mine a few weeks prior) — it’s a busy atmosphere with a mechanical bull.

After that we moved to Faces and Names where I could chat with my friends more but I think next time we’ll go dancing if I celebrate another birthday like this. The waitress was very nice however and brought me chocolate mousse cake.

After, I went to have breakfast with one of my friends, Joseph. Then I went home to get ready for my scheduled 3 mile run that everyone was convinced that I would miss.

Later, I went to see the Harlem Globetrotters at Madison Square Garden! We got surprisingly great seats even if we got the deal off travelzoo.com.

The next day, I ran another 4 miles then met with my friend Jackson (we were roommates in college also). We went to get delicious Indian Food from Curry & Curry (153 E 33rd St, New York 10016) in Manhattan on our way to watch “I am Number Four.”

Since we had some time before the movie, I decided to get a new phone. My Samsung Moment only has 2.1 (annoying) and it kept freezing (even if I am Team Android, 2.1 is a no-no). I upgraded to the HTC EVO. My Moment was recycled for $40 (better than nothing right?).

(The background is actually a photo that I took in Rochester, NY a few years ago. If you would like it let me know and I can email it to you if you’d like).

I LOVE the phone, I almost got the HTC shift because it has a keyboard like my Samsung Moment but it made more sense to get the EVO since it had a faster processor. So, I had to get used to the onscreen keyboard. I love the beautiful graphics also.

Also, how psyched I am about Words With Friends being on the Android!

By the way, naturally, I got the EVO in white.

Anyway, back to I Am Number Four. Jackson and I went to see it at the AMC Loews at 570 2nd Ave.

In the movie, gorgeous Timothy Olyphant was in the list of the casting…

– Give me a moment –

Sorry about that, even if I won’t say spoilers, this movie didnt seem predictable to me and I enjoyed it because of this. I love science fiction movies and this is on a list of favorites. Let me know what you think if you’ve watched it.

I Am Number Four follows the story of John Smith, a 15-year old alien from the planet Lorien, and his guardian, Henri, as they run from the Mogadorians, another race of aliens that are hunting down John and the other eight teenage Loriens, who all make up the Garde, living on Earth. The Garde consists of all Loriens who have special Legacies and powers. The teenagers are protected by a charm, which only allows them to be killed in a set order. John is Number Four. Both the Loriens and Mogadorians have a human appearance.

(source – do not read this source unless you want a spoiler)

I wonder if there’ll be a sequel… I wouldn’t be surprised.

All in all, my birthday weekend was amazing. Thank you if you were there! If not, even if it wasn’t a Night of Debauchery as originally planned, it was fun and intimate with great laughter and company.

Cheers to birthdays! Also, it’s definitely not too late to donate to the charity.

Oh, I didn’t get to play video games all day on President’s Day as I initially planned… *sigh*

Whooga ugg boots warm your toes faster with lavishly thick thermofleece. Each pair of boots features luscious twin faced merino fleece, is double stitched for durability, shapes to the natural contours of your feet and is backed by our 100% satisfaction guarantee.

On their site you can see the comparison of regular Uggs and Uggs from Whooga. They are thicker, feel softer, healthier for your feet, shapes your natural contours with memory foam, are durable and are reinforced for support.

I’m also considering a pair (love the one to the left).

By the way, Whooga Uggs aren’t just for the ladies. Men you can also use the code 1493JERLYN to get your own pair of Uggs. “It was men who invented the ugg boot for their own use. The ugg boot is in fact a mens boot which has been adopted by women around the world but is in fact experiencing a strong resurgence amongst men!”

Wondering who Ryan is…

Hope he has a job tomorrow… but then again curious to try Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch Beer (free advertising!)… dang this social faux pas.

This is from the official Red Cross twitter account.

“Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch beer…. when we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd”‘

The  tweet online for more than an hour  before it was noticed… ouch

Few minutes later, they tweeted:

“We’ve deleted the rogue tweet but rest assured the Red Cross is sober and we’ve confiscated the keys.”

(Photo from Veer.com – other photos in this post from iStockPhoto.com)

Disclaimer First and this post is looong: So this is my view on valentines day, relationships and imperfection. You don’t need to believe what I do . That’s the thing about paradigms. This particular set works just for me, possibly not for you. Doesn’t mean that either of us will be right or wrong. Also, what I hate the most about Valentines Day is actually the pressure that it put on couples. Not the fact that there are some people who really want it to be special.

So, Happy Valentines Day. There’s red and pinks everywhere and I actually love it. That’s because I love red (maybe not pink too much – ironic since my blog is pink all over).

There’s excited couples (mostly women) everywhere and panicking boyfriends who are preparing to call it quits on their relationships because of the pressure (get ready for it).

However, I’m spending my Valentines Day single, also thankful it’s not a repeat of last year.

Oh no, do not feel sorry — this is by choice! Had quite a bit of dates in the past but I decided that if Valentines Day is so special, I’d like to be with someone that I cared about and not just for free dinner.

Figuring out what I want:

One of my friends asked, didn’t you just change your status to “in a relationship” on facebook? Oh, they were following? After 3 years of being single I thought I’d give a relationship a chance but realized it wasn’t for me. I’m almost ready to celebrate my annual 25th birthday and not in any way ready for kids or marriage. A few weeks ago, I came to an epiphany that moving to the suburbs with a man whose perceptions of a relationship was nowhere in alignment with mine. I had prepped myself for weeks thinking about it and imagined how my life would be like. It didn’t make sense. However, I was really excited about him making plans for us when Valentines Day came around.

(photo by veer.com)

Besides the “36 things every single girl should do” rule number 20, I’d like to spend this first few months unattached and spend Valentines Day alone. See, the thing is: I love the idea of love and relationships but at the moment I’m not ready for one. I don’t think relationships should be forced. I think that they should just happen organically (maybe that won’t ever happen, but that’s ok, that’s what I want at this point). Also, with so many of my friends driving me crazy with their ideal way of relating to the opposite sex (or similar sex), it’s just so overwhelming. Our lives are changing yearly and there’s a different perspective that isn’t quite traditional with my circle and lifestyle thus, I’m changing with it — at least for now. I think the ideal model would be to work on myself. I love becoming the one I’d eventually love to meet. The one who will get the same respect that I expect and lives the healthy lifestyle that I prefer. Whoever they are, I will be ready for them when we cross paths.

Some of my friends argue that I’ve never been in love. Most aren’t aware that the people that they thought they were in love with are what I’m using to confirm my perceptions might be right. As friendships go, I see many ditch our friendships (Is my life supposed to stop and wait for you to figure things out by the way?) only to return. As a good friend, I try to accept them with loving and open arms. Not saying I set things up for failure, it’s just that I think of life organically and I don’t believe in forever at the moment. Although, my childhood religion didn’t teach against forever I don’t quite believe in it.

I think in order to be in a relationship,  you ought to have your own life as well. I don’t believe in seeking everything in one person (It’s impractical). Not everyone I date have my exact hobbies. So far, not everyone I date is honest with themselves as I am with myself. I don’t believe in changing yourself to be with someone.

As an open spirit, I enjoy the honeymoon phases and excitement of newness. I’m not ready to deal with “we” and “us” either (I freaked out after someone mentioned bringing his coffee mug over after dating for just 3 weeks — um, you don’t live here). So I’m totally fine with the idea of not settling.

I don’t think being in love means you need to die for the person. Why would that person put yourself in danger to test this? I remember one of my friends mentioning that she stood infront of her boyfriend when someone drew a gun to them. Ok if that’s the case, maybe I’ve never been in love (I hope she doesn’t get offended that I posted my opinion). I just don’t want to believe in the myth of romantic love. If love is continually defined as an emotional state then I don’t think it exists. I don’t want to match the feelings based on what I see in the movies with my life. “Love is a verb and should be understood as an action rather than a feeling. The definition that I believe best captures the spirit as well as the letter of the concept is “love is a decision backed by behavior.” – Dr. Herbster

Case of the ex: My ex boyfriend, I used to blame him for setting a standard of perfection when we were together that influenced my dating experience for the past 2-3 years that we were apart. However, later when I decided to chat with him again I realized that he’s not ideal either. He cheated, had a risky lifestyle and tried to expose me to it. He’s a sexual deviant (his words) who likes multiple partners (but it works for him, not me). The world is filled with way too many diseases for this — this is me judging — and I don’t care if you think there’s medicine to cure things that you “might” get. This isn’t Russian Roulette. I’d just rather not get anything.

Anyway, my thoughts of the perfection was my imagination that I had met someone who had the same perception of spending and saving (financially), and was as driven (goal-oriented) as I was. There’s nothing fairytale-like about that. However, I don’t think we were in love. Like I mentioned earlier, there’s 2 characteristics that seem more valuable to me: Respect and Health.

I think people who are single and people in relationships share something in common: most of us are in denial. Yes some things make us happy with either status but we can see positives in being unattached and attached. That’s why I don’t see why we have to make a big deal of it on Valentines Day itself — let’s just blame the media. I want to feel that wonderful feeling about someone not just by roses and chocolates on one day.

Who says you need to be with anyone on that day to proclaim your love? In the past weeks, I’ve just observed awkward couples trying to hook up before the deadline of Feb 14th. In my cynicism, I think I’m actually saving a lucky bastard the stress of organizing a night of dinner reservations, flower delivery and expensive chocolate that he needn’t get to  impress me. He’ll also realize that I don’t eat chocolate that much and I’d actually have to spare him from wondering if I hate his choice.

In my current mindset, there’s no forever, there’s no perfect one in my paradigm. People hide how they are usually behind doors after they “settle.” I’m not ready for that so,  hopefully with my journey of enlightenment I’m somehow helping the human race remain smart (Woman ensure the human race is smart; Men ensure the human race isn’t ugly – haha thanks Marvin).

By the way, after posting this, I’m going to make my relationship status single haha. Also, this post isn’t in anywhere negative. I think everyone should date without feeling the pressure of hooking up just because Valentines Day is coming up. Just get to know the person, don’t set expectations of a deadline and remember it mostly benefits the stores/restaurants and flower shops.

If you’re single on Valentines Day, like me, it’s also the perfect time to go out to meet people – especially in NYC. DO NOT STAY HOME ALONE because you complained that “this day sucks.” It’s a perfect opportunity! Many wonderful singles will be out and about, that makes it ideal to meet unattached people . If you’re indoors, shame on you — you might miss out in meeting a wonderful person. Besides, I’m heading out anyway !

** Btw, I thought really long about posting this entry but I figured what the heck, this is the real me. I just won’t post my take on politics or religion. Fair?

The last long distance race (besides the yearly Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Race)  I ran was over a year ago in October 2009 for The Human Race. I injured myself (Peripatellar Tendonitis) so 2010 was spent throwing myself pity parties because I was afraid that my leg would mess up again. I gained body fat and missed being in the best shape I was in my life.

A few weeks ago I said Fuck it! and bought a groupon from the Running Company (1059 3rd Avenue, NY 10065).

I  decide to add my Cushlons to retirement and just use recreationally (after being with me through over 320 miles).

They still look pretty good!

I went to the Running Company to buy myself a pair of new kicks.

I got a Nike Zoom Structure Triax+ 14 after I did a Gait Analysis where the shoe assistant explained that I had OverPronation.

What’s a gait analysis? It studies and identifies your running style. My Overpronation means my feet roll inward. Possibly the reason why I got injured in the first place… and I overused my legs. This time I’ll be cross training and taking ice baths so that I avoid longterm damage.

The shoe assistant was right about the shoe choice because Nike recommended it as the first choice when I did the footwear finder.

Anyway, I started training and I have been using Nike Plus as usual. The dashboard has a very nice schedule to follow from here until May 02 (13 weeks) where I get to run a total of 13.09 miles that day.

I’m researching diets and would certainly love your suggestions if you’re experienced. I spoke to my dad today about the race (he’s a cyclist) and he mentioned how important my diet will be.

He sounded proud of me signing up for it. I think it’s a fantastic personal goal and although I definitely have no realistic goals of running a full marathon, eventually I’d like to take up a bike, work on my swimming and train for a 1/2 ironman.

So earlier I did a 3 mile run (36 degress F). Today, Sunday, I’ll be working on my 4 mile run.

I have to be really creative about where I run because my area is limited with the outdoor track frozen over.

Probably I can run along the brooklyn bridge tomorrow and turn it into a full body workout by using what I learned from the Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp this past summer.

Another reason to be creative, my neighborhood occupants are abit distracting.
Everyone seems fascinated that I’m running around on the sidewalks.
Can’t blame them, not many people run here (but I did see a cyclist in full gear).

After my run I had a delicious Cookies and Cream Protein Shake that I got from the GNC (store brand).

If I don’t have a body like my idol, Rutina Wesley, by May 21st… I’ll be disappointed!

Here’s the schedule for my 1/2 marathon training (the 30 minutes are for cross training exercises) :

Have you distance ran before and have any advice?

Although these are concept designs I think our culture is obsessed enough with facebook and twitter on all our devices stationary and portable. Can you imagine wearing these? The colors are hot though.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Packers won, yes I was hoping that they did. I also got a foursquare badge:

By the way, in terms of Social Networking Influence, the Steelers didn’t win like @Klout predicted… Guess that online influence has nothing to do with actual gameplay.

I’ll share two infographics that I found today. One tweeted by my friend @Seb66 which shows, “7million employees won‘t show up at work the day after superbowl.” You know, because they are sick… I went to work.

Another from My Cheap Apartments states that some people rent their places for as much as $17,000 a night to rent out their homes for SuperBowl weekend!

Although this sounds ridiculous, you know how fans can get.

Yesterday I went to the Half Pint (76 West 3rd Street, New York, NY 10012) to view the game. I think I might be going back there in the future. I love the bar, the wings are great and the atmosphere was perfect to watch the game.

I was invited by @copyrider. Who was aware that ADesignDesk was having a meet for Creatives and Friends. There were people for either teams. I love sports and I love the energy from competing teams but I was a little annoyed by the screaming (another reason why I am happy that anytime the Black and Yellow song comes on I can chuckle a little). One super fan was yelling on top of her lungs and left my ear ringing. Let me not get into the female fans of football… Yes girls, we can understand football but we don’t need to show off to our male companions that we are hardcore fans or that we can hang with the boys. Haha Packers won though, she quieted down after that!

How did you spend your Superbowl weekend?

By the way, you can view some ads on hulu. Seems like this year that everyone was using Celebrities. It was interesting but I’m definitely not into Bieber Fever nor do I get how Eminem can improve Chrysler sales (C’mon we’ve seen 8th mile and knows he goes hard). Maybe I didn’t enjoy the ads as much because I was in a loud bar and couldnt hear most of them. I’ll rewatch to change my opinion . Someone had to explain what “Chevy Runs Deep” meant to me.

What did you think of the ads?

Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso (haha I love how long his name was) had a blue period. I’m not quite going through one. It’s just that I didn’t want to waste paint. Last month I used the extra paint mixed for this following painting (which I need to revisit) to paint 3 canvases:

So I started these two paintings (14″ x 18″) after going to Pearl Paint over the weekend:

I’m not quite done because I really, really love texture and I intend to add some .

I have one more canvas ( 18″ x 24″ )where I’m going to paint this sketch:

I’ll keep you posted on the textures .

The past few days have been quite eventful and if you noticed, I had a slight hiatus, doesn’t mean that I was avoiding. I’m actually writing a LOVE post about Valentines Day (that hopefully doesn’t appear bitter — it’ll just be my perspective on the day and love. I’ll try to make it an interesting read). Most of the things that I have been doing were actually posted on Design Lady NYC on facebook.

What have I been up to:

I’ve been painting and drawing. I’ve also been redesigning and developing my company’s site. Also a hot project is in the works and I can’t wait to reveal it. First thing’s first: Painting.

I took a trip to Pearl Paint (308 Canal Street, New York, NY 10013-2521) over the weekend and bought some new brushes and acrylic. I had a few extra canvases and I decided to do some quick test work.

Since they are “test” work, these paintings are actually available for sale for quite cheap so contact me to get them (I have nowhere to hang them seeing that I have the space saved for other work).

I will post the details of the paintings abit later and list the prices but here they are:

(By the way you can actually make an offer, I’ll ship anywhere )

Yesterday

@Gardenia invited me to an event (Random House/Slate Blogger Mingle) where I got to meet the authors of Spousonomics: Using Economics to Master Love, Marriage, and Dirty Dishes, Paula Szuchman and Jenny Anderson. It’s current on Amazon.com. Since the authors gave us a free copy, I will be reading and reviewing it as soon as I’m done reading my current book, “Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo“.

We went to Puck Fair (298 Lafayette Street, New York, 10012), I only had a Brooklyn Lager but they had a very nice menu. I met Kate from Random House who was very nice and all the ladies seemed very supportive of the new idea in the works that I shared with them.

After that, Gardenia and I went to a Coach (445 West Broadway, New York, NY 10012) event where we met the Mother and Aunt of the editor of Matchbook Magazine. Now, I have my eye on this hot Coach Poppy Bag. Remember the Coach Poppy Project where my blog came in as number 9 with my #jpoppy tweets?

This bag is $448.00 (tell me that life isn’t fair). It’s hot, bold and so Valentines Day or my birthday worthy! It’s style:16313.

While at the Coach event my landlord texted me that I had a package. I wasn’t really expecting one so I told her I’d be abit late. She said it was ok to stop by before midnight.

Immediately after the Coach event, I walked over to the Bowery Poetry Club (308 Bowery, New York, 10012) where I met with Matthew B. who invited me to Sacapuntas (I’ve always wanted to go).

The Bowery Poetry Club usually have some amazing events. This was my 2nd time there. The first time was in December where I got to see artists life paint and people perform. It was good to see Matthew B, Cole and Patrice. I realized that I’ve known these people now for a year.

When I got home, guess what came for me:

A PSP branded with “Are We There Yet,” given to me by @KloutPerks. Klout measures your influence on social sites. I’m honored to have gotten this. I do miss my old PSP (Still somewhere in my apartment) but this is the PSP 3000. I love the new features and I spent my time downloading free comics yesterday and played Mortal Kombat before I went to bed (at 2am). Thanks Klout!

“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you’re sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and somthing else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that’s almost never the case.”

“Courageous. Confident. Vital. A brave new color, for a brave new world. Let the bold spirit of Honeysuckle infuse you, lift you and carry you through the year. It’s a color for every day – with nothing “everyday” about it.”

It’s definitely a bold and stimulating color. As someone who thinks pink is overly feminine… I can’t help but incorporate this “viscerally alive” in my layout (yes that’s why it’s pink). If you’re seeing this entry through RSS, go here. I did some research to find some  beautiful products, palettes and themes that are gorgeously honeysuckle.

source

Here’s are two hex colors that I liked:

These colors might not be absolutely accurate but these are two hues that I decided to use for these posters/ideas and layouts a couple days ago.

I’ve also decided to create a mixture of palettes.

Have you been creating anything with the color of the year? Share!

I hardly hang around my neighborhood (and I admit that I need to do it more often)… Tonight I felt like I experienced the talents of Brooklyn. The words spoken and the feelings felt, were so tremendously real.

The event was suppose to start at 8:30PM (Doors opened at 8PM) but it didn’t start until 9PM (although the host mentioned no CP time in the flyer).

The show started off with the host Chris Slaughter opening with three questions that he got from the audience to start a discussion. Two of the questions were relationship related and one was a social question.The responses were quite different from my perspective and this set the mood for me. Here I was listening to opinions of people who grew up very different from me. They are real Brooklyn. I feel like the visitor that I am — being the tourist. The poetry that followed was just an attraction into their world.

The night features were Jamaal St. John and the duo Jamica and Omni Blaze. However, other poets took the floor and in the air erupted lyrical voodoo hypnotizing me and giving me goose pimples. These people were demonstrating an art that I don’t possess, I allowed them to sweep me into their world.

A young girl named Yaya started off the show (she also ended it). She was an exceptional choice. She drew you into her world by exposing details that made your jaw drop (sometimes from discomfort and shock). She was definitely one of my favorites because of her flow. Her words were quickly spoken and she told very long stories in a short time.  If your mind wandered, you’d surely miss it but she kept you hooked more because of wondering when she was going to take a breath. Her partner also recited. His style a little more suave but created impact as much as her.

A few more poets went on. Such as TuanX (@tuanx) – I wondered why he sounded familiar but I remembered him ousting me on foursquare -irony. His EP  (Of Mice and Men) is available on itunes (Check his site out). Memorable, “the truth is in my posture.”

Another poet, who made postcards (selling for $3 and I hope she contacts with my business card that I left her), recited: “I found god and she committed suicide with your religion” a strong poem that left people absolutely speechless.

Then  Jamaal went on. We were blown away. He started off with Haikus. He has a love for thick women and claimed to have a “Thickness Protection Program.” He mentions if thickness was poison then he doesn’t want the antidote.

Other noteworthy things said, “I’m so plastic Tupperware sends fanmail.”

He left us with a suicide note left by Michael Jackson — it was touching.

Just when I thought this wouldn’t get better, Omni Blaze and Jamica came on — one sang and played the keyboard while the other recited. Ending with, “I breed people not puppies.”

I couldn’t help but feel completely naked as I listened to everyone. After hearing about missing fathers and abusive relationships I noticed that most of these poets are products of broken homes (not all and you could tell who were) I felt like I was staring into their soap opera. They were sharing the dark parts of their lives and what made it so uplifting was seeing them come together with this form of art that makes them so special.  Once again, I had a loss of words … I just paid attention to what I was capturing with my lens (the amateur photographer).

This wasn’t a social night for me really. I left pretty quickly because it’s 18 degrees F (feels like 4 degrees) out. Thankfully I only had a few blocks to walk.

Do you go to poetry readings? If so, who have been your favorite?

Photos taken with the Droid 2. I might scan some on a later date.

Makes…

Something festive!

I love sparkles .

I’ve been applying a solid coat and covering it with the “Only Gold for Me” Top Coat by Sephora for about a month now. I ordered the Silver one this time around.

What color are you wearing?

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“Nobody didn’t ask your opinion, nobody asked you to be born!”

This is my first time making Chili (extending “firsts” during this year) and it wasn’t as difficult as I thought. I think I’m going to start making it more instead of Stew during the winter. I totally got the idea of having Chili tonight from Tameeka aka TameekaTime on twitter. I live in NYC and since we are going to have around 12 inches of snow (more or less), it seemed like an incredible idea to have that as leftovers while I “work from home” in the morning. By the way, I have no idea how Tameeka makes hers but I know it has to be good (She’s from the islands too)! She posts some of her stuff on her blog.

So, again this is my first time but I’m having it now and I’m thinking, “Why didn’t I make this before?”

I have the basics and then some:

Onions (I chopped up 1/2 of a huge one — I love Onions)
Garlic (I used one clove)
Black Pepper
Chili Sauce Powder (Yes I cheated)
1 1/4 lb of  Tomato chunks sauce
1 lb can of red beans
A Bay Leaf
Frozen mixed veggies (I like corn and all those good stuff)
1/2 Red Pepper
1/2 Green Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper
Hot Sauce
Aged Cruzan White Rum (told you there was some island flava in there)
Cloves
Lean Beef (Although I would have preferred Ground Turkey)/
Cube of Frozen Sauce (Sometimes I freeze the excess sauce when I bake/brown any type of meat)

I browned the meat in a pan and added diced onions, red and green peppers, garlic, seasoned it with the black pepper and crushed red pepper then drained. I added the Chili sauce powder.

I transferred the meat mixture into a pot with heated tomato chunks and red beans. I kept that mix boiling while adding hot sauce to taste, cloves, and the bay leaf.

In a separate skillet, I heated the cube of frozen sauce to make it similar to the temperature in the other pot (directions according to mom to prevent the meal from getting sour quickly). I added the heated sauce to the chili meat mixture.

At this point, I turned down the heat and let the Chili simmer for about an hour more, mixing etc. Finally after taste tests, I added a shot of Cruzan Rum (OMG the difference).

That’s it. Next time, I’d like to add things like Celery and non-frozen veggies. Also, I might experiment with some Chicken Broth in there or Vegetable Stock… I love the Tomato Chunks in this and the Chili tasted spicy with a hint of sweet. I didn’t use salt but there’s definitely salt in the powder. If you’re concerned about this, try a recipe using actual Chili Peppers (I just couldn’t find any in my neighborhood).

How do you make yours?

I think it’s funny when I tell my friends from the past that I live in New York and they immediately think “Sex and the City.” At first it was mostly because of me being single and telling stories, now it’s mostly the blog and my adventures.

First off wrong demographic, I have never seen a full episode (there’s no Caribbean girl in the main cast of characters though). They also tend to forget that New York City comprises of 5 boroughs and I live in Brooklyn. I love Brooklyn, well the idea of Brooklyn — I’m still deciding whether or not I fit in.

My life is probably much more calm.

When I first started this blog, my assumptions was:
I’d go out and write reviews based on my life here focused on design of life since you can design anything (including your habits). I would visit museums, restaurants, little stores, and write about deals, what I wear etc (so much for that).

This blog really has no definition besides design of life a la Jerlyn and you’re watching me grow — and my peers grow. Good job — sometimes your feedback is necessary. I do have the occasional latte and I’m a Guiness-kinda-gal but there’s no way that I can afford Carrie’s shoes. More and more I notice the hustling of my peers and how much we have little in common. My life is forever changing. My group of friends are forever changing – like underwear. I’m originally a Caribbean girl and daily, I feel myself struggling to fit in. Maybe it’s ok to not fit? When was is a terrible idea to be original?

Anyway, back to New York — the city that never sleeps, the drunken women wearing heels stumbling in the streets after hours and the occasional body caught on the subway rails — nothing in life is ever completely pleasant.

This city has millions of people and we pay a significant amount in rent to live in cupboards. I overhear patrons complain. Everyone has their own agenda (specifically for you). We complain about rising prices with the monopolized subway system, everyone’s angry daily (hardly anyone smiles on the subway), people have stank attitudes… Why do people live here again? Oh, and I don’t need to own a car: win.

There’s nothing like it. There’s no place like it. I remember comparing New York to Paris once — not the same (I can get crepes with nutella here and it’s absolutely delicious by the way… Can’t find the Louvre here though but there are countless museums). As I look at my $500 monthly health care bill, my $149 unlimited metro card and my student loans that I will be paying for the rest of my life, I’m ok. I like NY. In fact, I love New York. I love taking visits abroad, especially during the winter where I take a cab back to my flat and I see the bridges and lights ( I love coming back at night). Or a night out with unavoidable inebriation and I look out the window and see how the river separates each borough and I noticed that I’ve always lived on an island.

New York, I love you. I made many memories here… Let me know when you’re tired of me. I doubt I’ll ever get tired of you. If I leave, and I’m sure that I will — whether next week, a few months or years, I will always consider you my home.

I bought a groupon to the Museum of Sex for myself and a date or friend. Who else would do something as moderately daring as me?  My friend @gevitage. We had a good time despite what I’m going to write because the night concluded with us catching up and having Chipotle (OMG I love Chipotle – Send me coupons!).

The Museum of Sex is dedicated to the exploration of the history, evolution and cultural significance of human sexuality, advocating open discourse and striving to present to the public the best in current scholarship unhindered by self-censorship. It’s located at 233 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York.

I went to the Museum of Sex in Paris (Musée de l’érotisme) a few years ago before graduating from college. I remembered being shocked by a great deal of the displays and artifacts from way back when. There were collections of toys, equipment etc that would have probably shocked everyone. It’s like this: Before plastic or rubber or whatever those toys were made of, they were made of wood (imagine the splinters…). I expected the exhibit to be as informative and entertaining as Paris — I was wrong. (See some photos online here for the Musée de l’érotisme)

Yes, I was informed but this is information that I could have looked up on the internet. The Sex Store was much more interesting and you can actually start and end there… however, I think it’s worth a visit if your expectations weren’t as high as mine.

Sexuality is something that I think many people struggle with. The act of intercourse itself. I’m very observant that not many people want to talk about it. Even if I think I’m more or less opened to discuss it, I respect my peers who both do or don’t. Whatever you do with your practices and acts, I definitely believe that everyone should just be aware of what works for them and understand that others might not share their same feelings/thoughts.

Anyway, back to the museum.
The very first floor was about pornography. Pornography is described as obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, esp. those having little or no artistic merit. @Gevitage made a statement that was very apparent when I compared the years of the videos projecting on the walls, “If you notice, over the years bodies got smaller and less hairy and people became more daring.”

I also realized that even panties got smaller. Guys if you only knew there are other panties aside from thongs, bikinis and granny panties. If you’re interested you can take a look at this book: Dessous (25th Anniversary Special Edtn)

I’m also aware that sex in the American society was very much repressed, definitely far ahead than most countries however. As I noticed the depictions through the cartoon displays over the years, sex seemed to be a forbidden act. A great deal of clean cartoonists did dirty drawings.

There was also a robot exhibit:

Vibrators were used to treat female hysteria. Apparently the female orgasm was a myth at that time so there was “female hysteria.” Women considered to be suffering from it exhibited a wide array of symptoms including faintness, nervousness, insomnia, fluid retention, heaviness in abdomen, muscle spasm, shortness of breath, irritability, loss of appetite for food or sex, and “a tendency to cause trouble”. Since ancient times women considered to be suffering from hysteria would sometimes undergo “pelvic massage” — manual stimulation of the genitals by the doctor until the patient experienced “hysterical paroxysm.” …  A page from a Sears catalog of home electrical appliances from 1918 includes a portable vibrator with attachments, billed as ”Very useful and satisfactory for home service.” [source]

Animal Sex
The last part of the exhibit was very interesting. Maybe now that we are aware that even animals have homosexual tendencies it might be more accepted? Even in dolphins… homosexual dolphins use the blowhole (no pun intended).

Also, Bonobo monkeys are feminists. Did you know that macaques show forms of prostitution by exchanging food for sex? Some other weird things: Some animals are necrophilic.

However some acts were quite beautiful:

“In species, either or both sexes may not be monogramous. Lifelong monogamy is rare, even within monogamous species.”

At the end of the exhibition:

I went to use the bathroom and I wish that the experience was at least interesting. I did learn new things so I can’t completely write off the visit however, I expected the experience to be similar to the Parisian visit.

Have you been to this museum before?

Share photos!

By tallying what I read in 2008, I realized that I read close to 90 books. Since then I’ve been trying to break that record. It has been in vain. However, that’s not going to stop me from pursuing the goal of reading at least 20 books this year. Its definitely a possible resolution.

Why books?
Books expose a wide range of knowledge and keep my mind active. I’m currently attempting to learn something new everyday. Reading also inimitably improves my vocabulary. I believe it will improve my writing.

Currently reading:
Its now 6 days into the new year and I am currently reading the Secret Lives of Great Artists: What Your Teachers Never Told You About Master Painters and Sculptors. I feel like I’m more connected to my favorite art pioneers – learning about them like I’ve never before. Art History wasn’t particularly interesting to me in college so I feel like I’m getting a new lesson. Instead of seeing slides and brief descriptions to cram into my mind for a final, I’m learning about the individual. The book makes these artists more human instead of being gods — therefore untouchable.

Devices:
I dont own a device for reading. Ironically I’ve never used a device for reading. I enjoy holding physical books. I appreciate the tangibility and smell (can’t recreate the smell of old books from the devices — can’t recreate the germs either lol).

What are you reading currently? Are you using devices? I need suggestions and since I try almost any genre I’ll appreciate writing reviews.

Remix to Kanye’s Monster with the real Monsters from Seasame Street!

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Not like Kanye’s done anyway:

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“Death and taxes. None of us can escape either and while you can’t do anything about paying taxes, nothing says you have to trust your relatives to write your exit speech — your obituary.”

————–

Jerlyn ‘Jade’ Thomas*, a vivacious self-proclaimed geekstar and polymath, dies at 25.

Jerlyn born on the island of Dominica, moved to the U. S. Virgin Islands and established her home in NYC,  had dedicated most of her life to her passions of trying to encourage others through various forms of creativity. She’s best known for http://www.designladynyc.com and http://www.jadersworld.com. She passed away on January 4th, 2011 during this blog post.

Adults encouraged Jerlyn’s thirst for a creative outlet at a young age. She quickly found a fascination in computers. She realized that her post secondary education would involve computers and art when her illustrations were published and she experienced minor celebrity in the papers for her web-development knowledge. Her first employer encouraged her to seek a career off-shore.

Jerlyn leaves behind her parents, Jennifer and Joseph, and sisters Luxi, Jay and Liz. Jerlyn was single and unmarried with a rumored lover.

No funeral or viewing — her body was cremated to be spread in the ocean where she learned to scuba-dive.

In remembrance of Jerlyn, an all day open bar has been organized at her favorite bar next Thursday. If you were a close acquaintance, you will know the details.

————–

*Disclaimer: This topic was also difficult because a family member of ours just passed away before the new year. I’m not dead. However, it will be quite morbid if I did die on this day. Also, I chose cremation but I’m actually an organ-donor.

Join Design Lady NYC on facebook for more info.

So much has happened: This year,  I left my first job out of school, I got a major salary change, I got let go, and I became a freelancer. I also started realizing how important my friends were. A couple years prior I appreciated my family more and I’m first to admit: I had some sort of Holden Caulfield days when I wasn’t very appreciative of what I had (I think that was normal for a teenager though).

Recently, life has been good and I can’t complain. I’m finally content. 2010 was challenging – yes… but having your mind finally expand due to biology and understanding situations better is quite invaluable. 2010 was just quite an odd year. I met some interesting people and learned from them. This helped me compile a list of goals.

These are my “resolutions”:

1. Sleep more (they call it beauty rest for a reason right).
2. Play more video games (jus’ sayin’)
3. Eat healthier
4. Build better friendships and improve on current good ones
5. Focus.
6. Donate more
7. Travel more!
8. Seek more “first” experiences…
9. Write, write, write
10. Date more normal guys (thanks dad — I didn’t want to make this a resolution but my dad told me that I dated weird guys… <3 him — I just had to add that!)

What are your resolutions?

I’d like to share what happened though! This year was an incredible year of firsts for me.

January
I started the year off by heading to the spa (first type I’ve been to like that) and attending church with Johanna who was visiting from Sweden. I wrote very few entries in January because I was focusing on certain goals. I also learned how to replace an iPod Touch Screen (a first).

I also tried Sahaja Yoga (another first) also with Johanna. I also started writing tutorials for cookbooks.adobe.com.

February
I enjoyed Valentines Day but I learned a very important lesson about myself and love. I also left my job (a first) to accept another. I joined Aviary, inc. It was my first experience at a Start-up company — which was the wrong fit but I wouldn’t find that out until later. I also decided to get a REAL smart phone, I removed my old phone (bye bye red).

March
In March, Pari Dukovic was able to do my “25th year photo” which came out amazing!

I got an interview with Dominican Source.

I also learned how to deal with an incredibly difficult client or prevent them.

I attended NYC Twestival as one of my first Twitter-related events. I also tried Netflix for the Wii and loved it.

Did some photo manipulations… and got addicted to the show Keith and the Girl.

April
On April Fool’s Day, I pretended to get married to my friend Marvin who has been an amazing friend since I’ve met him. I tested the iPad at my job at the Start-Up Company. I also decided to start that Design Lady NYC fan page to separate my life from my real facebook page. I also bought a relationship book that made me change my perspective on relationships but in it’s irony, the couple also broke up.

I decided to try something new — something where I tried to be nice daily.

MOMA had a Tim Burton exhibition and I was lucky to have attended:

I also got my very first real professional haircut:

May
I went to the first party from @db — a tweetup where I met @justcreative and @iamkhayyam.

I also lost my job on May 7th. I had so much to say but I was talked into not writing about what happened but I didn’t let that stopped me from telling my employers exactly what I thought it all came from. I learned a huge lesson during that experience. It also taught me an incredibly lesson about kindness of strangers, separation of races, beliefs etc. It was a very trying experience for me and it opened up my eyes about life in just a few days!

My friends helped me get through it…

I through of a list of endless opportunities…

However, I landed an amazing opportunity with an agency that I had interviewed with earlier in the year. I got the chance to work on the interface of all things, the Nook II.

I also realized the value of supporting other creative people.

Pacman was uploaded on my server since Google’s was only there for a couple days…

My friends became more important to me and I learned how to balance my checkbook much more efficiently.

June
I became more aware of the HTML 5 vs. Flash debate.

I got a litl.

I also tried Paintball for the first time:

Hung out with someone who randomly met me through twitter. I also decided to go home to the Virgin Islands.

July
In July, continuing the “firsts” I tried pole dancing classes. Which made me respect what the body can do — but  of course I’d never strip .

I saw Inception — the first screening that I’ve ever done and attended my first block party.

This month, I also tried being a vegetarian for one month and bootcamp training for the first time.

August
Went to my first burlesque show and got my first tattoo. I also dimissed a job that I definitely didn’t like after learning new things about freelancing such as, get to know what net 30 means and not everyone will want to pay you especially if you’re a freelancer.

I tried to reevaluate my life as a single girl. I went on my first hike.

I  valued the friendship of these two girls. I realize that there can be girls who aren’t bitchy and conniving. They are certainly the best of the best. Cole from Bama to Brooklyn and Patrice from Hell and Heartaches.

(photo by @newsychu)

I went to my first poetry reading.

Then, there was a start of my Graphic Novel Project.

September
My website jadersworld.com (my first domain) made 10 years old. I went to my first J’ouvert. I wrote about Attaining Happiness. I also went to my first Fashion Night Out event for some reason I always missed out on it. I also did the annual breast cancer race as usual.

My friend Joe got married — I haven’t been in a wedding in so long that I thought they were extinct — seriously.

I realize how important Klout was on Twitter when I got Lone Star Screening kit. I went to my second hiking trip. I became more aware of the influence of brands.

It became more apparent that health benefits will be difficult to attain as a freelancer.

October
I did my first Improv Everywhere assignment with the MP3 experiment. I alo saw the Social Network Movie which has been drawing a great deal of traffic to this site.

GAP changed it’s logo. I discovered Varsano’s Chocolate.

It became more apparently how much Google is needed in my life.

I attended the NYC Comic Con.

Catfish was a good movie and I went to the Adobe Max Conference again.

November
I made my Halloween costume this year:

iVoted in the Elections. I’m often fascinated by this because I’ve only been a citizen for a few years.

I realized that many people were deactivating their facebook accounts only to sign back on.

I interviewed my parents for the first time for a blog entry.

I also took part of the Great Football Giveaway.

I also went on my first Dessert Crawl and did my very first Android app.

December
I got my first Mac ever…

I realized more and more how awesome twitter is.

I received Google TV from the October Conference we went to.

I came to the conclusion that I really have nothing to complain about.

Learned how to make Butterlane Cupcakes went to the first Klout Party that I’ve been invited to ever and another great party from Damien (@db).

I also did my first Blog off entry and hope to do more very soon.

OH yah, and I realized that I gained alot of weight and this is the heaviest I’ve ever been in my ENTIRE life (I still look kinda’ hot though with curvessssssssss).

I also learned to be closer to my parents. They are incredible people and well, I feel lucky to be their daughter (*tear*).

Also, finished the year off with an Adsense Google Check. Now this blog finally pays for itself. Thanks everyone!

That was my year! If I forget anything it will be in a follow-up post I’m sure — like you care… Anyway, how did yours go?

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2011!

Jerlyn

Before and After

Certainly more could be done but I think that’s enough for the day.

Painted with Sketchbook pro.

The song “I’m still in love” is one of my favorites

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This was one of her most recent:

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RIP: She was 54.

I knew Alana since elementary school. We attended the same church, sang in the same choir and got into the same High School. After age 11, I moved to Virgin Islands so I didn’t know of her love of sewing until earlier this year when she started her line BelleVisage Clothing:

For Christmas gifts, she decide to give her peers dresses. Ok, at first I wondered about this because I really do not think any creative person should work for free. Also, the task at hand seems like quite the challenge. However, she completed my dress really quickly and I had the dress before Christmas!

I actually have to give credit to my sister for the idea of a peplum dress because I don’t usually wear dresses and I was very indecisive of what to tell Alana to make. Isn’t that cool though? Telling someone your stats and asking them to make a dress for you miles away without fittings? — pure talent.

Tailored dresses are extremely tricky so that’s another reason why I love this dress and the fact that it fits. People pay $$$$ for dresses that fit them just right. Another thing about having a dress tailored to your body though is I have to be very careful about those 10-15 lbs that I might gain after the Holidays! So I apologize for the bad eating that I did these past few days and during the pics from overeating (lol). So, enjoy since — I love the dress.

To get your very own BelleVisage Clothing visit Alana’s site by visiting here:

Oh yah, temporary curly hair

Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas to each and everyone of you ! I hope you’re enjoying time with your family and friends. Stay tune for the end of the year post !

I was fortunate to meet this beautiful couple this year (@db & @mizcity) and it was great seeing them at this recent Holiday Party from Digital Somethings that I attended with @copyrider and @jdelsoin. Maybe one day I will be as fortunate to find someone with the amazing dynamic that they both have (maybe next year? It’s only a few more days haha)! I had a really great time  so I’d say this holiday party was another success! Thanks so much for the invite Damien I had a blast!

As the year comes to a close, I am still meeting new people and forming incredible friendships and just having a good ole time! Here’s my mug along with my coworker, Joseph and Leah!

Someone thought Joseph was an actor that night! I’m going to be the Agent.

The photos are from Random Night Out check the rest out there.

One of my favorite Directors indeed. I saw the film Requiem for a Dream a few years ago — it was in college and I remember the psychology it played with my mind. The expectation with Black Swan was equally high. It was twisted and morbid — horrifying but beautiful.

Natalie Portman did a great job and unfortunately I can’t explain too much of the movie or I will ruin it. It definitely was a win in my book considering that it had no soppy happy endings or set predictability.  A definite must see if you aren’t faint of heart. A few parts had me cringing and turning away — a few places also shocked me — however I appreciated how it came together a great deal. Mila Kunis was gorgeous as usual by the way and let’s not talk about the sexy, French, Vincent Cassel… Anyway, read the synopsis here.
If you are familiar with Darren Aronofsky’s style he uses certain montages to simulate effect (like drugs in Requiem for a Dream) — no let down in this film. He played on the existance of folklore surrounding doppelgängers (“a tangible double of a living person that typically represents evil”). I have nothing terrible to say about this movie at all.

I can’t wait to see The Fighter!

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I got this in the mail a couple days ago and I finally wore it to work today. I loved the design of it. It’s from my Alma Mater, the Rochester Institute of Technology. (By the way @Miggi worked on this also check him out at SketchBooked) Not many folks know that I attended there but that’s where my post secondary education led me and I must say it was an incredible school. I’m quite fortunate for the memories that I had there that helped me grow. It also stirs the passion that I have for my work.

Tiger Pride actually comes from a Tiger named spiRIT (a Bengal Tiger – 1963-1964) that was the school’s mascot. You can read more about the tiger here. A dog named Brownie was the mascot prior to Tigers in 1955, that all changed but you can read more about it at that website. I got this T-Shirt because I support my alma mater and wanted to show a token of my appreciation for attending there.

By the way, this girl on the College site is totally me:

Marketplace Tech Report

Technology is reshaping our world. The Marketplace Tech Report explores how. In this daily 5-minute program, host John Moe talks to newsmakers, innovators, visionaries, and creators about what’s happening in the fast-paced world of technology and what it means in our every day lives.

download from iTunes

Marketplace

Cash, dough, loot, moolah, bread, bank, bucks. Whatever you call it, money is important to us. Very important. For better or for worse, it’s a factor in every major decision we make. American Public Media’s Marketplace looks at major national and international stories that impact the average listener’s wallet. It’s “the money show for the rest of us.”

download from iTunes

Keith and the Girl

Keith and his ex-girlfriend talk s**t.

download from iTunes

Risk!

“RISK! is a live stage show in New York City AND an audio podcast that can be heard around the world. RISK! is where people tell true stories they never thought they’d dare to tell in public.“

This is almost like Moth and equally entertaining. These stories really happened and are the types that you may not want to admit.

Listen Here or download from iTunes.

The Moth

“The Moth, a not-for-profit storytelling organization, was founded in New York in 1997 by poet and novelist George Dawes Green, who wanted to recreate in New York the feeling of sultry summer evenings on his native St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, where he and a small circle of friends would gather to spin spellbinding tales on his friend Wanda’s porch.”

I love these stories, they range from clean to explicit by the way. They are told without scripts. Some are very short.

download from iTunes

Wait wait, don’t tell me

“Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! is NPR’s weekly hour-long quiz program. Each week on the radio you can test your knowledge against some of the best and brightest in the news and entertainment world while figuring out what’s real news and what’s made up” (link)

So if you have fell asleep and fell over the pop culture boat or missed something important in the news like Tiger Wood’s multiple affairs (for example). Wait Wait… Don’t tell Me! will get you up to speed for the new week. Besides that, it’s entertaining limericks that have me laughing on my commute… This also makes everyone think I’m friendly (because I am smiling) and gets creepy guys to hit on me. In any case, it avoids the case of the Mondays.

Listen Here or download from iTunes.

This American Life

“There’s a theme to each episode, and a variety of stories on that theme. It’s mostly true stories of everyday people, though not always. There’s lots more to the show, but, like we said, it’s sort of hard to describe.“

As the description goes, there’s a theme to every episode. What I like about this show is that it’s from NPR <- they seem to be very good at entertaining. It’s a weekly show and they cover a wide range of topics that you might never have listened to if you didn’t get the podcast. I listen to it every week and this is my second year actually donating to them to continue the show. Please donate if you can because it’s very educational (besides entertaining).  If you go to their website: thisamericanlife.orgvisit the archives and listen to past shows.

Listen Here or download from iTunes.

The BeanCast™ Marketing Podcast

The BeanCast™ is a weekly round table podcast, featuring notables from the marketing, advertising, interactive and public relations community. We discuss the latest industry news with a healthy dose of perspective. Join the fun. Subscribe today!

I really enjoyed this podcast. I found out about it through Bob Knorpp who runs it. I met him at Peter Shankman’s holiday party. It deals with alot of field related topics so I can see myself keeping a close ear to it for the next few months because it pertains to my industry.

download from iTunes

Motion Traxx

“Motion Traxx is your ‘Fuel For Running’. It’s a fitness music podcast designed to for running and other exercises and activities that benefit from up-beat, steady-paced music. The show is produced by Deekron ‘The Fitness DJ’. Motion Traxx features non-stop dance music mixes set at high Beats-Per-Minute (BPM), and is free for everyone. How’s that to get you ‘going’?“

This was shared to me by one of my friends (@gardenia) during the time that I picked up running not only as a hobby. The podcast provides the motivation that I need to get through my runs. The DJ does two checkpoints at 1/2 hour and at the end and at times I don’t realize that I’ve ran for a whole hour with his random beats and power tunes. The great thing about this podcast is that there are archived podcasts that you can download.

Listen Here or download from iTunes.

What podcasts do you listen to?

If money were no object, what would be the perfect gift? Whether it’s for yourself or for somebody else, what thing would you give that you won’t or can’t give now? #LetsBlogOff

I’m someone who is quite content with her financial situation. Sure, I have student loans but I have quite a handle on balancing my check book to make sure that I am making good decisions… I’m no millionaire by any means however not many people can say that they are “content.”  My being “content” comes from the fact that I know how it is to not have money. The fact that I can actually eat daily and I am not homeless is satisfactory. If money were no object, I think paying off my student loans would be the ideal gift for myself or anyone to give to me. Only because after that, there wouldn’t be any other restrictions on my budget or means in which I can help others. I’d also take my talents to more of a philanthropic route rather than capitalistic gain. Even now, despite my loans, if I had extra income I would certainly help others with it. Currently, I donate where I can (remember the Great Football Giveaway and Charity races) and volunteer where necessary.

However, for someone else: If money were no object, I’d travel around America to change people’s lives.

Why America and not another foreign country? This is actually something that I’ve always wondered about. I’ve wondered why we are usually so quick to support another country but tend to forget that we have homeless people here — right in our neighborhoods and cities. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t ever help any countries (I donated to the red cross to help Haiti). However locally, I figured if I am able to change someone’s life in a positive way they can, in turn, pay it forward. When I believe I’ve fixed my neighborhood, state etc… Then I’ll focus on other countries. I always believe that problems should be fixed from the inside out.

I’d eradicate homelessness. Unfortunately for this, not all homeless people are at equal mental states so this might include starting mental hospitals, providing shelters for the mentally stable and getting them into programs that will find them jobs. This sounds easy on the surface but it’s actually quite involved.

Other gifts if money were no object:
I’d start scholarships to get more women interested in technology programs. The power in education is clear to me and will definitely benefit anyone (male or female — however, I am bias in leveling the playing field within that division of genders).

Feel free to leave comments and suggestions but they aren’t finessed as yet. I’m really enjoying this project and hope that she loves them.

I totally admit that I need to re-watch this. I snoozed a couple times (I know, I know)… however, after that Shankman party and no coffee the entire day, I am surprised that I stayed up after having some drinks for Marvin’s going away party.

I waited in line at Regal (850 broadway) with some folks and just overhearing them made me realize that these folks are certainly like me. We all read Techcrunch, we all are involved somehow with start-up companies and we love Tron. My favorite memory of Tron actually is teaching at a summer camp (iD Tech Camp) at MIT the summer of 2006. I was teaching game development to students ages 7 to 17. During the break, we would all get on the network and play Tron. Of course, I got my ass kicked a few times (Those kids are good). Later today, after I’m done with client work — I’m totally installing it on my Windows Machine.

I don’t want to ruin the movie but I want to see the previous version.  This one was definitely shot well but if I look outside of my geekiness for a second, I’d say that someone was on some psychedelic drug while filming it – lol. Some parts made me sleepy but I loved all the effects.

Tron’s going to become my new obsession for abit.

This was 1982′s (www.rottentomatoes.com):

When Flynn hacks the mainframe of his ex-employer to prove his work was stolen by antoher executive, he finds himself on a much bigger adventure. Beamed inside by a power-hungry MASTER CONTROL PROGRAM, he joins computer gladiators on a deadly game grid, complete with high-velocity “Light Cycles” and Tron (a specialized security program). Together they fight the ultimate battle with the MCP (Master Control Program) to decide the fate of both the electronic world and the real world!

Now in 2010 (www.rottentomatoes.com):

TRON: LEGACY is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (GARRETT HEDLUND), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (JEFF BRIDGES), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the digital world of Tron where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant Quorra (OLIVIA WILDE), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey of escape across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.

Well, Jeff Bridges is kinda hot for an old dude.

By the way, while at the theatre, the founders of foursquare were there. I also met some start-up folks who had some pretty interesting ideas.

Anyway, signing off because this entry is being written after 4am and I have work in a few hours… If you’re not familiar… I highly suggest checking out Jay Maynard – Tron Guy (he’s the ultimate fan)… I can’t wait to read his review.

Who is Peter Shankman?

I only met him briefly but he seemed nice. I was possibly inebriated (There was an open bar from 6PM – 10PM). However, before going to this party, I read a great deal of entries on his blog. Peter is quite inspirational. A few weeks ago, he did an ironman in Cozumel, so he’s an official ironman. That’s a life goal of mine so just meeting someone as inspirational motivates me a great deal.

Peter is also a consultant who founded HARO. He also is an activist… There’s so much more about him and he’s now one of the people that I look up to online.

Talking about people that I look up to, I met someone (Scott) tonight who helped raise over $25,000 with twitter for a kid in a wheelchair. In order for him to live his final days comfortably — see the power of twitter. He was so modest about it also. He just got a book deal from someone he met at the party (amazing). It’s unfortunate when I meet people in my circle who say, “I don’t see the point of twitter” or “I tried it a few times and I don’t get it.” My life has changed so much since twitter and I will write about it here one day.

Shawn, Me & Scott.

I didn’t interact with many people (unfortunately because I was so overwhelmed by how cool these people were) I wondered: Why did I get invited? Guess what: It wasn’t because of my @klout score (which happens to be 65).

An exclusive party because we are passionate about what we do on Twitter. Thank you klout.

Peter Shankman said this during his speech:

One person won the all expense paid vacation to cancun — it was her birthday! Happy Birthday @meghanoverdeep.

I met some other folks such as: Bob who hosts a podcast http://www.beancast.us.

Bob & Walter (Sprint Media Relations). Bob is 6’5″ and Walter is 6′ 10″ (I don’t think I have ever met someone an entire foot taller than me!)

Also, @copyrider – Leah – Bad Bad Leah — who is a fellow freelancer and completely awesome (I can tell this just by her tweets and randomly meeting).

Also @HajjFlemings who runs BrandCampU.com. Also Shawn (@backpackingdad) from backpackingdad.com who was voted hottest blogger along with Peter a couple years ago (can I be voted hottest blogger also pretty please?)

Scott, I totally want your shirt.

The DJ (DJ Gravy) was awesome by the way!

Just in case you were wondering what was in the “Sample Bag:”

Not shown: Fiji water and POM juice that I had. Also, there’s a tanning solution in there that I can’t use :p.

Can I have this for my Christmas gift santa? Pretty please?

What do you  guys think? What’s your favorite font this season?

Seriously, I’ve been a good girl this year… I love this font.

The last time she visited we took this photo:

Guess who’s who.

I gave her another photoshoot this time and it’s on facebook. I might post some here.

But here’s a preview:

I like her makeup in these. Also, this time around she seems a bit more grown. It’s interesting growing up around someone and watching this. I love my sis.

Gail and I took a cupcake class at Butterlane earlier this week and I meant to post about it however I didn’t get to the photos until today.

They are posted on Design Lady NYC on facebook.

Butterlane is located at 123 East Seventh Street, New York, New York 10009.

Gail and I were in charge of the chocolate frosting and cupcakes. We learned a great deal like cream cheese cuts the sugar and adding flavors to vanilla frosting is the secret to the yummy Butterlane cupcakes. We also learned how to frost the perfect way — I wasn’t successful… See I am not good at a great deal of things. I am in love with pastry bags though… They make perfect toppings.

I’m highly considering an investment in a mixer and creating a cupcake shop. What do you guys think?

If time allows, I will post the recipes when I scan and OCR.

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I was surfing myspace this morning, yes myspace… and I came across their Black Eyed Peas takeover.

Download the MP3 version here
The Beginning (Deluxe Version)

So, which blogger are you?

I made the scarf last year from a very simple pattern that I found online (wish I knew where it was now) but I still have leftover fabric if you’re interested.

I’m wearing mostly Old Navy stuff because Gardenia sent a 30% off coupon to me a few weeks ago but the jeans are actually from a groupon that I got a few months ago. It’s from the National Jean Company. It probably cost near $125+ but with the groupon discount it was only $50.

Haha the red matches nothing more than my camera which can be bought: Here on Amazon.com

I still think it’s funny that I don’t have a particular style.

I’m smiling because this weekend gave me an epiphany. I love epiphanies…

As the year comes to a close (can you believe it’s almost 2011 already — in case you missed the memo), there’s a great deal of things I want to plan like: resolutions, travel, etc… I’m quite tempted — really. However, why bother? I’m having a good time and I have nothing to complain about. Last year, at around this time I had already started making decisions of what I wanted to do this year (because I’m an early planner).

Sure, I could run more often to lose abit of weight but why can’t I just start running now?

I’d done exactly what I wanted to do this year. I made myself happy (I’m still absolutely convinced that it’s a state of mind). I took a leap, I took risks, I touched people’s lives, I made new friends. I feel great. I even almost believe in love (I’m in denial).

The point is, I’ve grown.

When I wrote the Attaining Happiness post a few months ago (that was just in September), I still went back to it to use it as grounds to make many of my decisions in the following days, weeks and months.

I realized that a great deal of life isn’t guaranteed. It’s quite possible to never find that “one” or that job or ever reach a goal you really want. However, I believe that the path you take along the way makes everything worth it. Believe me, I have had my share of disappointment over this year. Things got seriously bad that much of my life had to change because of it (I still can’t post about many of these situations). However, I can still reach the conclusion that I really have nothing to complain about. I used what I applied to getting over a bad breakup to getting over a job loss or broken friendships and continued to work on other things.

Perseverance does make situations worth it. Without goals, you might as well stop living. As my life changes or have changed, I see my values changing. I seek to help others, I think my friendships are important, my family means a great deal to me and I want to continue with that route of being a positive influence (even if I don’t consider myself a role model — in fact, I’m not). I also want to make sure that I never settle for less than my worth. I will not sit and simply be comfortable. I want to keep my goals in sight and keep making a difference. Even if I get minor setbacks… I think minor set backs are itty bitty challenges that you have to overcome in order to allow yourself to notice that you’ve worked hard enough to deserve your rewards when you get them.

2010 doesn’t own me. No matter what happens, I’ve had growing memories and can only keep looking ahead to see what 2011 teaches me along the way.

At first glance, it was very easy to set up.

Having a keyboard as a remote however, reminds me of using my computer :p.

Get Started

I’m still not sure whether I’d adapt to it unless I get Hulu Plus. Right now, I just have over 4 different ways and devices to view Netflix, stream pandora and check emails — a bit overwhelming.

(Photo of my iMac vs my HD Monitor/TV)

Getting used to the keyboard.

It started by asking your account info:

On the Home screen, there’s Bookmarks, Applications, Spotlight, Most Visited, Queue, What’s On and Amazon VOD.

I found it quite amazing that I could stream some of my favorite podcasts on the TV:

However hours later, I still can’t get my twitter to sync… anyone else is having this issue?

Also like I mentioned, no hulu streaming from browser

Netflix works perfectly though!

Yesterday I received a package of popchips from klout.

I actually LOVE LOVE LOVE Popchips. I always got it with my meals at a sandwich place that I frequented at my last full-time job. So when it was offered by klout I signed up and referred some friends. Gardenia actually posted hers here.  Jeff (@doitjeffstyle) received his yesterday as well:

It has been quite awhile so I am not sure if anyone else received theirs but it’s nice that they offered the chips with a note.

It also came with a clip just in case I decided that I can’t have the entire bag. Gardenia joked about that yesterday — who doesn’t have the entire bag of chips in one sitting? I know that I do and maybe more than one (I need to be on a diet).

The chips are delicious if you haven’t had them before and they go for about $20.40 for a pack of 24 on Amazon: Popchips 6-Flavor Variety Pack, 0.8-Ounce Single Serve Bags (Pack of 24)

I checked the nutrition facts and they are actually pretty reasonable for something that tastes so good.

Anyway, Klout has been affecting my life more and more recently. Earlier this year I received a screening kit from them for Lonestar.

Recently, I got invited to an exclusive party which I will post about if I attend! Thanks followers I really appreciate everything. By the way, if you’re following this blog and I don’t follow you on twitter please send a message @jerlyn. I will be showcasing and interviewing some twitter peeps soon!

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“Joan Jett’s 1980 classic anthem was named the 29th best hard rock song of all time by VH1 in 2009, the highest song by a female on the list. It’s been featured on several versions of Rock Band, and last year also made its way onto the summer smash ‘Kick Ass’ soundtrack. Scoring Jett her first post-Runaways hit, it’s a simple, 80’s punk track that owes its innards to The Ramones.”

- brought to you by Track in the Box.

I ordered an iMac on Black Friday. Apple only gave $101 off (what did I expect?)

It seemed like a good opportunity to get a Mac for final cut.

I have never owned a Mac (shock). Maybe my design will get better? It rained today so the world didn’t get brighter… My friend tweeted to me today : “I don’t know if it’s the fact that you got a Mac…but I’m suddenly very attracted to you.” – @mmwwwhahaha <– BamatoBrooklyn she is a talented hybrid and also a comedian yo!

Good to know it will make me more attractive, maybe an iPhone will get me laid?

I thought about it a great deal and since I am budgeting I tried solving the cost by paying off the cost of the Mac to my student loans instead. Which I did and still ended up getting one anyway.

I hope I can justify the cost by freelance work at least.

I know that I won’t be a true convert because I have used a Mac since I started college and everyday I worked at an ad agency so I use both system interchangeably. I always went home to my Windows Machine (so to speak).

I will document on my blog what I love or hate about the Mac for a few days but the point is: over 25 years later I own a Mac.

By the way, let me know of any free mac software that I should try.

Thanks! Lol photo booth is addictive!

By the way, I totally think Whip my Hair steals from Dirty Wine just abit… ignore the butt claps Start at 00:48 seconds.

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It stars Selita Ebanks.

Well, I didn’t put it to the test but I ate to the point that I couldn’t eat any more. I had a lot to eat and a great deal to drink.

Let’s just say that I owe it to my body to do some serious cardio.

I made a cheesecake by following this recipe however, I didn’t use coconut so I substituted it with a banana. It was the first cheesecake that I’ve ever made and since it was well received, I’m so excited about making another!

I took it to Matt’s Party because Ainka’s had lots of food and drinks.

Everything was so delicious (pic below is of the meal at Matt’s)!

And of course, I overestimated the amount that I can actually eat…

I didn’t take photos at Ainka’s unfortunately but I had some delicious Lasagna (and Ciroc & Orange Juice).

Thanks for Matt and Ainka for having me at their places I’m truly thankful!

Photos are courtesy of Steve Farrell.

Growing up, I remembered that boys in Dominica would kick footballs in the fields. I was never interested in the sport itself because I played basketball (I wasn’t the nimble athlete with speed and precision meant for football) but I remembered liking how happy they seemed. Girls mostly played netball (I was horrible at that also but I remembered having so much fun even if my team lost most times!)

So, when Steve Farrell posted about the Great Football Giveaway in Septemeber, how could I say no when my memory flashed back to that poor village in my country (Dominica) that I grew up in? The memories of young children sweating in 90 degree tropical weather came into my mind, their bare feet caked in dust, rushing to and from each other to score a goal. How could I say no, when I had memories of missionaries who visited the island and also helped change my life? They brought books (which I absolutely enjoyed), shared about their own countries (and this might be a reason why I’m currently in the US). Some of the kids who played had relatives in the States would send us these many supplies sometimes and because of sharing, we all enjoyed the use of them. We were a small village where most of us didn’t have running water or electricity (We got one pipe and electricity the year before I left the island – when I was 10 years old).

Sports (cricket included) made it easier for us to interact with each other through friendship and sport. We weren’t idle. We remained healthy. So needless to say, I really appreciated people like Steve Farrell who went out of his way to touch the lives of all these young men and women. I got the chance to work with Steve at Publicis Modem during my first year. I remembered that he always said the kindest things, including when my brother passed. Steve also believed in my work and gave me incredible advice through my career so far (and he might also have been one of the people who got me even recognized to be promoted).

Steve asked us to share this link with people to continue the widespread of joy through our social connections. How could anyone say no? You can get involved by donating to the Great Football Giveaway here http://www.thegreatfootballgiveaway.org.uk/donate.htm or to the Malaika Children’s Village here http://www.malaika-kids.net/.

Three of us from Publicis Modem days (I’m not there anymore) donated and we got our names on this football and netballs:

It went to a secondary school south of Kilwa near the town of Kitomanga. Thanks Steve for making us a part of this. He explained while handing out these balls:

“You see the kids go through what we began to regard as the clear stages of the Great Football Giveaway: shock (what are these people doing here?), disbelief (why are they handing me this perfect, brand new football?), realization (my god, they’re just GIVING it to me to keep!) and celebration (pure, unbridled, shrieking pandemonium and joy). And your simple donation made that possible.” So, please donate it’s only £10 which buys one football:  http://www.thegreatfootballgiveaway.org.uk/donate.htm

This entire ordeal makes me wonder why it took me 24 years to kick a football properly.

I really appreciate good service and I’m happy that the barista did this because the only reason that I’m at Starbucks was because of my experiment - not the gourmet coffee (although I am fond of them now).

Some other notable things was Dominos giving me 2 coupons months ago for my delivery mishap. It makes me happy when brands realize that their customers are influential and keep us in good standing with them. I think we all care if we lose them from bad service.

Kudos to Starbucks and Dominos.

So, I wore what I bought today.

Nothing fancy, also a little dark in the photos. I wore this dress with stockings that I got from Duane Reade.

My family has a pretty interesting history.  We were born in the Caribbean and island called Dominica in the West Indies. A land where it’s normal to live to 100 (my great grandmother was one of them she lived to almost 115).

My sister and I were among the first generations in our immediate nuclear family to start our careers on the mainland, also known as the United States.

At 25, I’m starting to reflect a great deal on my life (mostly reflecting on my lack of culture of loss of culture). I decided to interview my parents — wondering how they were at my age. My mother is one of 20 siblings (yes 20 by both parents) and my dad is one of 7 or 8 (according to which grandparent you asked growing up).   I decided to interview my parents mainly because our lives are so different. By the time they were my age, they already had all 3 of us (my brother passed away). My parents are currently in their 40s (yup young) and migrated to the Virgin Islands where we lived briefly with my dad’s parents.

This was a portrait done of me for my 25th year:

Here’s the recollection from my mother:

Where did you live when you were 25? Dominica

What did you worry about the most when you were my age? How to take care of you three kids.

What did you want for your future? At that time, I was hoping for a career after you guys grew up and hoping to have a close family.

What do you love about your age now? I’m more experienced and I make better decisions/judgement.

What do you plan for your future? To be rich (she laughs). To tell the truth: I just want to be able to keep being happy and content in my life. To handle anything in my life and that’s pretty much it.

What advise do you have for me now that I’m 25? Put yourself first and whatever choices you make in life make sure it benefits you before anyone else. Whatever you choose to do think about it so that you don’t regret it in the future.

What advise did you wish that your mother had for you when you were 25? I never knew my mother then but I wish she could have told me what she did at 25 and how I could better myself for my future.

Here are my Dad’s answers:

Where did you live when you were 25?
Dominica.

What did you worry about the most when you were my age? I wasn’t worried. When I was 25, I already had you kids.

What did you want for your future? I had children, so I just wanted to have a good home and have the children grow up well. It was all about you guys. I was working to get a house, and send my children to school.

What do you love about your age now? I love the idea that at my age I can’t be easily swayed by anyone. I have my own mind and thinking and no one can fool me. Age brought reasoning. I love that. Young people these days don’t seem to have the same. Young people are easily led astray. I know good from bad easily. I can hear it, I can sense it… that’s knowledge.

What do you plan for your future? Not very positive. It’s unpredictable. All I want for it is to prepare for when God comes (my dad’s religious). Make sure my life is order. I seen too many people my age who have passed away and gone already.

What advise do you have for me now that I’m 25? For you now, I’ve spoken to you many times… you have to take your life seriously. Live and enjoy yourself but make sure what you do is something you won’t regret. You’re supposed to live without regrets but there are things that you can do that will cause you to be so. Just live it to the fullest with necessary caution. Usually people say that they don’t regret anything but according to what you did it can leave you with consequences… i. e. hurting yourself intentionally might cause you not to be as reckless anymore.

What advise did you wish that your father had for you when you were 25? Well, he wasn’t the type who would sit and talk and I wish he had. I don’t blame him for that. He just didn’t have that upbringing. I wish when I was younger that he would sit and talk about life to tell me: Look, Education first. He did his best to give me everything I wanted but I felt like I raised myself. He couldn’t go through my books to tell the difference of whether it was right or wrong. It wasn’t like when you guys were growing up and I could correct you myself. I wish that he was educated. If he were, then I may have taken a different path. However, as I get older, I realized this is the best thing about my life right now realizing that I can’t blame my parents. Whatever he did for me, that was his limit. That’s what he could have done and it’s now left to me to pass it on. He didn’t have the technology or things that I had growing up. Just like you guys have new technologies. At a certain age, you want to focus on certain things. I wish that he went to school (he couldn’t read or write). He thought he did the best for us by farming (his trade). He was happy enough to know that we were eating and could laugh and be healthy. That was his accomplishment. He didn’t abuse us, although we were scolded, he did the right thing.

—————————————————————-

It’s interesting speaking to my parents about this now. I hope to have more interviews with them. Our family has changed so much in the past few years.

What am I worried most of at my age: Maybe failure. Not making them proud? They always seem proud of me.

For my future now: I hope to be content. I hope to acquire knowledge along the way and never regret anything. I hope that if I do decide to or get the opportunity to settle down that I can share this with children of my own.

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His name is Mike Thompson and his website’s here.

If you are viewing this from RSS and can’t see the video go here.

I will do a follow-up post about how it’s done on my coding blog that I just started. Thanks to @iBrent for his awesome session at Adobe Max!

If you can’t see the video, go to the Design Lady NYC wall on facebook.

Last night’s event was a dessert crawl and I do have a sensory overload that might make my dentist cringe but my sugar high was been pretty steady.

I did indulge and if I can’t fit into my jeans I’m starting a strict diet.

This idea came from Revi. She invited me to the November Outrageous Dessert Crawl by The NYC Food Crawl on facebook.

We had a few rules before we started:
1. Pace ourselves
2. Follow the Route
3. Get to know others in the time we wait
4. Try suggestions or other things on the menu
5. Bring home souvenirs

You can see the photos from the rest of our night on Design Lady NYC’s album here

We started with a small group.

Revi and I met Gil and Melanie who are now our foursquare friends. Melanie’s an Architect and Gil used to be a paralegal. They are all almost as big foodies as I am and really nice people. They are both from California originally.

We made acquaintances and we were on our way!

1. Led Zeppole

The first place we went was Led Zeppole which I think is the group’s favorite.

It’s located on 328 east 14th street between 1st an 2nd Ave. We tried the killer fried Oreos like they suggested but we really enjoyed this delicious fried dough (Zeppoles) on their menu that drammaa had us try. Here’s his photo:

2. MomoFuku
The next stop was Momofuku (why do I feel this is a bad word?) and I splurged and got 4 types of truffle. The banana cake truffle was amazing to me. Momomfuku is located at 207 second ave at the corner of 13th street.

3. Just Sweet Desserts
The next stop was Just Sweet Desserts where we had tapioca with coconut dessert soup cold.

I loved it, especially the mushy balls (take it as you will).

It’s located at 83 Third Ave at the corner of 12th.

We also found out that if you put “waving cat” into Google (thanks to Gil), you come up with Maneki Neko which are the waving cats that you see in Japanese influence establishments. Maneki Neko “literally “Beckoning Cat”; also known as Welcoming Cat, Slappy Cat, Lucky Cat, Money cat, or Fortune Cat,” according to Wikipedia.

4. Saint Alp’s Teahouse
At Saint Alp’s Teahouse located at 39th Third Ave. We also saw other Maneki Nekos here.

We met a few other crawlers and had 6 types of toasts.

I swear that my breakfast toast are never going to be the same again! Our groups favorite was definitely the condensed milk classic toast.

5. Spot Dessert Bar
Spot Dessert Bar was where my sugar crash came and I think the group was weary also.

Behold (the manager joked it was at a 5 million dollar bid).

Spot is located at 13 St. Marks place between 2nd and 3rd ave.

We got the satay peanut creama with bacon toast.

It was interesting. I think I liked it the most in the group. However, I couldn’t have too much of it since my taste buds were fatigued.

Everything in moderation right?

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Facebook isn’t old enough to show Alex Droner at that age but isn’t it an incredible video?

What do you think facebook will be 30 years from now? There might be something else?

Yes, I actually feel better about it than the Old Spice Guy, I know, weird right?

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by JWT

I really like this version of Forever Young it’s by Youth Group (makes me want to get a skateboard — can’t believe I never learned how to board — well, I’ve bladed). If this song sounds familiar to you it’s probably from Jay-Z’s version:

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By the way, if you want to discover new music check out: Track in the box.

The original by AlphaVille:

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Do you find yourself constantly checking updates?

From your phone, from your inbox, from your AIR feeds?
Do you feel an obligation to see what Jane Doe is doing?
Whether or not she is in a relationship with that same guy she was connected to on her profile a week before?
Whether or not she said something meaningful or her life is falling apart due to quarter life crisis?

Are you easily addicted to games from Zynga like farmville, Mafia Wars, Cafe world, etc?

Do you request invites from people just to get a Cow added to your farm?

Do you check the deactivate box just to log back in a few days later? The next day? A Couple Hours?

If you any of those sound like you, then this post is for you.

I decided to activate a browser plug in the other day because I realized that my facebook friends list was fluctuating. I wouldn’t have cared too much about it because I know that people delete each other constantly but for a very odd reason my friends list numbers would increase without me adding anyone new. I found that odd.

The plug in alerted me when someone deleted or hid their profile. This was sort of fun for me because I noticed who those people were. Also, some of them I hadn’t chatted with in awhile so it was nice to observe. When they reactivated, I sent them a message if I was logged into facebook at the time (the plug-in is quite stalkerish).

There was another alert when someone simply deletes you (instead of hiding — sorry I don’t have that screen shot).

So these are my thoughts:

If you’re deactivating your profile just to avoid facebook’s overwhelming amount of content only to log back in to reactivate… After you’ve “had it!” Then you obviously have a problem (sorry)… I use facebook to contact a great deal of people that I don’t have in my address book instead of programming your numbers or email addresses in my phone — or to remember names haha. Can you really blame me? However, since you are addicts…

Follow these steps to get you through if you’re overwhelm:

1. Too many emails? Control what email you receive from facebook here.
2. If you have privacy issues go here to change them in your settings.
3. You can also control who sees what on your wall or photos here with Friends List.
4. The most important thing is to control what emails you get! Avoid getting notified for EVERYTHING.

I’m sure I might have found facebook overwhelming if I didn’t work with online related services. Social is a big part of my industry so I have to be on. Even if I don’t want to check my messages, I have to use client’s like pages for research or design. So, I personally do not have a reason to be off.

Cheers hope it works for you

I’m all for Social Media being a part of election if it gets people out there to vote.

I checked into my polling station on my way to the subway station (super convenient) even if I thought I was running late and I ended up getting to work at the same time that I usually do.

I don’t think I liked the paper ballots this year at all (Also, what’s with the scanners? Did any of you have this?)

By the time I write this post, 59% of men and 41% of women checked-in according to foursquare:

I’m actually quite appalled that many people I knew didn’t register to vote. I’m disappointed that many of you don’t know how important it is. Also, spare me the I don’t like politics speech. Guess what, if you don’t vote, some idiot is going to vote for you. So do you think you have a right to complain about pressing issues in this country if you didn’t try to make a difference? — Frankly, I do not think so.

If you aren’t familiar with some of the candidates, I hope you did your research check out the partners of foursquare for more info.

Well, it’s just a thought.

It was ridiculously cold yesterday for Halloween but I did manage to wear a costume which will be embedded at the end of this post. It was my version of the Queen of Hearts.

I managed to make my way to the Village however, it was more stressful than I expected and I managed to skip the Parade itself and have dinner with my friends at La Lanterna di Vittorio instead. Getting home was a task within itself… so hopefully next year I’ll just find a Halloween party.

Once again, this year was a HUGE hit. Well, this time around I didn’t win any Creative Suites but all of us got to take home Droid 2 and get shipped Google Tvs! What do you think of that? I’m totally preparing to create my apps!

I already tested some things out in Flash Builder:

We landed on Saturday however the conference didn’t start until Monday. So, my “idle” time was spent creating a banner for my current freelance gig (which went well thankfully)!

Sunday night, we went to see the ADAA Awards which was incredible. It was fantastic seeing students doing extremely innovative things with Adobe Creative Suite. It made me feel like going home and dedicate some hours to some serious coding… which I will be doing.

Monday:

The first Session on Monday was the General one which was named “Welcome to the Revolution…” an understatement really. It’s incredible how much is being done with Adobe products and we were once again blown away. This was also the session where they announced that HTML 5 is being used in many ways and so is Flash and AIR (on … everything!). We were given Droid 2 phones here as well and there was a brief visit by Martha Stewart.

Then, I attended “Making Your Applications Social,” which briefly went over Gigya. I will certainly be using Adobe InMarket and Gigya for my games & apps in the future.

After, I attended “Building Drupal themes with Dreamweaver CS5” — since I am familiar with WordPress, I decided to attend this session partly because I can offer this to my clients from now on.

My final session for that day was “Build Your First Adobe AIR App for Android” which blew me away and I’m so psyched about my upcoming projects! We used FLEX SDK Hero and although we didn’t need an Android device, our Droid 2 was there to test *wink.*

We also hung out with some cool folks from the InMarket Team.

Being entertained by interactive walls ha ha.

On Tuesday:

Building Mobile Devices with jQuery (definitely see use with this). From this session, I can create mini sites and jQuery mobile devices even with SQL. We used jQTouch and jQuery. I will share examples as soon as I have completed them. Stay tuned.

User Experience the Next Generation was our Tuesday’s General Session… where it was announced that we all got Google Tvs!

After this session, I had Building Composite Rich Internet Applications. We touched based on Live cycle in this class and Enterprise. Then I left in the middle of it sadly however, I met with UX Magazine rep Elias Parker who interviewed me briefly.

My next session was “Creating Industry Standard eBooks for Distribution on Sony Reader, Amazon kindle, and Apple iPad,” In this session InDesign CS5 was used to export to Adobe Digital Editions. The speaker also touched base on EPUB enhancements in CS5.

My final session for that day was Hidden Gems and Technologies in Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop Extended. This program is so powerful and I will always push the reason for getting an upgrade can be simply because of Content-Aware and the Puppet Warp. It was also neat that I was able to beta test it last year before it came out.

After this was Sneak Peeks… As usual, INCREDIBLE things were announced… and awards were given to winners in different categories all using Adobe Products. William Shatner hosted it!

I will post as many sneaks as I can on youtube and Design Lady NYC fan page also there will be a follow up post.

By the way, I know very little about Star Trek and even if I’m a Tech Girl. I’ve only seen the recent movie. However, I did rank 139 in the contest that they had. I can be converted:

Of course, then the MAX Bash – where we mingled, got drunk, did some embarrassing things and grew closer to the Evangelists and reps, (I won’t write the creepy stories here).

On Wednesday:

This is usually the day that everyone disappears and MAX slows down…

I had AIR for Android: Discovering the Magic — and magically it was indeed… I had my very first AIR app running on the Android with Flash Builder. I had some pics of it on Facebook.

After that, I had Game On! Multiscreen, Multiplayer Game Development which was essential for me to think of my next gaming project (again, stay tuned).

Then I had Game Theory and Design for the Flash platform – I hope you see a pattern here…

Final Session for the day: Getting Paid: Leveraging Payments to Monetize Your Content… Pattern Completed.

I’m so grateful to have met familiar faces again like Anissa T, Michelle, Brian (remotesynth who is running RIA Unleashed this year) Ed Sullivan, Mark Anders, Sheri S, Mitch, Stef Sullivan, Greg Rewis, Mike, etc (sorry if I forgot any names). Also shout out to hermosawave who follows me on twitter and I finally got to meet in person. Here’s an incredible photo he took of my friends and I.

It was also great to meet new people this year!

Now I’m back in NYC. Did you guys miss me? Really, c’mon admit it :p.

Again, Adobe MAX experience was a win! See you guys next year!

This time around I took some work with me so I’m coding from the hotel. We are at the same hotel again. My trip here was pleasant enough however  I couldn’t get enough sleep in (restless passenger was sitting next to me).

I got to see my sister today (she picked me up from the airport). I still find it humorous that we live in two separate parts of the country. She’s on the West Coast, and I on the East Coast (New York is better *wink*).

Anyway, I’m here and I know this year will be pretty exciting! I wonder whether I will win the Master Collection again this year (like I did last year – 2 of them). C’mon lady luck?

I already saw @stefsull and @garazi at the Airport (didn’t get a chance to say hi). However, I had a great time at their sessions last year and I’m definitely sure they have something amazing prepared.

I’ll keep you posted when they announce cool things here. Follow me on @jerlyn for real time updates.

If you’re not familiar with the Jazz classic Night In Tunisia, already check it out in the following youtube video. I used to listen to him a lot while practicing my tap dancing.

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This one kind of makes me want to Salsa (Manteca Theme)

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Here’s a sweet collab with Louis Armstrong in Umbrella Man

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I came across this movie’s trailer a few weeks ago and I’m surprised it didn’t get as much air as The Social Network Movie. I think all of my friends who see this movie will enjoy it… or it will make you think. It’s pretty difficult to hate this movie.

Before I get into my review I will tell you a funny story of mine that happened to me when I was probably 11 or 12 years old in a yahoo chatroom. The movie Catfish sort of brought back the memory:

I was in a Christian Chartroom (because I assumed it would be safe), the irony is that I lied about my age to  be there — I wasn’t 13 as yet, and I met this young man who was probably 14 years old. His profile photo looked like a model’s but I really didn’t care about looks back then because I was barely a teenager and my hobbies didn’t allow me to be the least bit curious about sexuality. We talked about his life in the U. S. I was living in the Virgin Islands back then and it was interesting to just bond with someone near my age like a pen-pal. We spoke for months on a daily basis, just summarizing our day (yes pretty innocent) in terms of school and family life, etc. Then he disappeared for weeks. I did miss chatting but eventually I found other things to do so not seeing him online didn’t mean much after awhile. However, one day he popped up. I contacted him and asked him what happened, how he’s been, etc. He started apologizing and said he had to come out and say the truth. He was very sorry for lying to me. At first, I assumed that maybe he wasn’t who he said he was or that he was a creepy old man preying on kids (that was pretty regular back then). However, he admitted that he wasn’t a boy — he was a girl instead, and that she understands if I don’t ever speak to her again. She would also send her “real” photo — which was a chubby little girl with red hair. I didn’t mind that either but I did ask why she lied about herself. She couldn’t explain why but said she decided to tell the truth because she is trying to be a good Christian. The rest of her messages seemed hesitant to give a clearer explanation so we sort of parted ways after that day.

Back to Catfish, my story is nothing as dramatic as this movie.

First off, the main character is totally hot (great smile)! His name is Yaniv (Nev) Schulman and he’s a photographer. I looked him up to make sure that he’s real. He has a twitter account @nevschulman

Also, because I’m pretty ballsy, I tweeted at him.

This is the brief summary of Catfish on rotten tomatoes:

In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost sensed a story unfolding as they began to film the life of Ariel’s brother, Nev. They had no idea that their project would lead to the most exhilarating and unsettling months of their lives. A reality thriller that is a shocking product of our times, Catfish is a riveting story of love, deception and grace within a labyrinth of online intrigue.

As usual, I don’t want to ruin movies if they are pretty new.  I predicted what would happen however, I didn’t predict how they would handle the situation. That part was very shocking to me. I’m still not sure whether this entire thing is “real” because of the ending but it’s a definite must see movie. It might change some of your opinions of what you share and who you add to your account. Also, now you will understand why I insist on meeting people before adding them to my facebook account .

Let me know what you think when you see it!

Design Lady NYC

For those who knew, thanks for your well wishes. I’m back to a regular 98.6 ° F, or 37 ° C.

I did get a little creative while being nursed back to health (I had incredible stew, lemon tea, the most delicious breakfast and a really clean kitchen!) So, I gave this as a gift to my caretaker !

(They like coffee as much as I do).

You know how much I love coffee

With awesome news… I got my New Business Cards… The color of the back reminds me of coffee .

They have evolved. No more butterflies . However, they do have curved edges like my old ones… and a QR code.

Recent look:

Definitely distinctively different (ahh the redundancy)

This was the very first version. Although I loved it and the reaction from people, I will have to agree with my friend Revi, she thought it was a bit young. These new cards should reflect some level of sophistication and brand.

Oh yes, of course… feel free to state your opinions. After all, I only ordered 100 for the first round … as a butterfly (you can read why I used it here), I am constantly evolving. “A butterfly represents a need for change and greater freedom, and at the same time it represents courage: one requires courage to carry out the changes necessary in the process of growth.”

Atomic Tom

via (Marvin)

Ok, so I didn’t stop because I was rushing out of the station. However, did you know that one of the reasons why the monthly unlimited card is being raised from $89 to $104 is because of people who will not purchase a metro card? Yes, that’s one of the reasons. Many of you, and hopefully the guilty person is reading this, do try to find ways to not pay for these rides…

Ok, sure… I believe in helping people… and Yes, if you lost your card and you’re stranded I’m willing to help. However, will I wait until you give me a convincing story? Mmmm — probably not. I cringe everytime I have to purchase it also and it comes out of my budget. Also, you can’t be dressed better than I am yet ask me to swipe you in… really?

I’m a freelancer and I’ve been valuing every dollar for months now. Each ride costs approx. $2.50 so that’s approx. $5.00. If I get an unlimited monthly currently ($89) it comes to approx. $1.50 per ride. I’m saving about $1 currently if I get it and take the metro everyday (not counting the days that I have to take a $20 cab ride). If I travel back and forth for the entire month with $104 it’s about $1.75 per ride now… Ok, not so bad but it does add up if SOME PEOPLE do not want to help pay for a metro card.

I believe that eventually the MTA will be as costly as Metro North and some European countries. We have it sort of good here in NYC with these prices… it’s just unfortunate that the service doesn’t reflect that. The subway is always crowded and not so clean (I think they are working on it).

Not all of us are doing their part. Surely, I could probably wait until someone comes out of the exit and ask them, “Ma’am” or “Sir, do you have an unlimited metro card, can you swipe me in?”

Originally posted here via Geraldine

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Gap scraps new logo after online outcry

In a statement released on the Gap website, Mark Hansen, president of Gap Brand North America, said the company’s customers always came first.

“We’ve been listening to and watching all of the comments this past week. We heard them say over and over again they are passionate about our blue box logo, and they want it back.

“So we’ve made the decision to do just that – we will bring it back across all channels.”

He added that it was clear the retailer “did not go about this in the right way” and “missed the opportunity to engage with the online community”.

“There may be a time to evolve our logo, but if and when that time comes, we’ll handle it in a different way,” he said.

Might I suggest: Simply create buzz around a rebranding, don’t confuse consumers by just changing it. Also, give them incentive to win of course, user engagement by voting. Win-win.

…

Revi convinced me into attending the NYC comic convention this Sunday – ok, so it didn’t take a great deal of convincing. I had a blast (with a capital B so, Blast!).

I want to attend next year! However by then I hope that I am partially done with my own novel.

The first thing we did was enter the Michael Jackson experience raffle to win a nintendo wii (I already own one). So I actually decided to preorder the video game on amazon.com instead. Let’s just say I will be practicing Michael’s lean until then (I will post the YouTube video).

Then we walked around some more. I bought 3 hardcover books which ended up being a special so I carried around 6 hardcover books. The highlight of all this were the artist signatures that we got.

She told me it took about a year and 1/2 to complete her novel. I can’t imagine what mine will be (determination right?).

However a few hours later, we were tired from the excess luggage in our hands.

I met a budding artist whose work I bought (6.50 for two books) she is on deviant art. Her name is Hanh Nguyen.

We also took tons of photos with other characters. (By the way I am wearing Robot Legs T-Shirt).

I checked in at the Rock Star Games booth and got a deck of playing cards.
A few more walking around and I purchased a marker set to get started on my novel (a little bit every day right?) since I need to do pre-digital sketching. I also picked up random free things on the way.

I also took a break and had some empanadas. I was famished.

Then I met Shawn Alleyne. An amazing artist! Hopefully he works with me. I want to create his website!

By the end, I was extremely exhausted, so we got Starbucks.

Check out Design Lady NYC on facebook to see the rest of the photos when I get the chance to upload.

Thanks Revi for the photos!

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Honestly I am not even phased by the Gap logo because it was probably created for buzz.

Thats definitely what it did today: created buzz for the store. Even the @GAP twitter account tweeted:

On their facebook, they posted:

Thanks for everyone’s input on the new logo! We’ve had the same logo for 20+ years, and this is just one of the things we’re changing. We know this logo created a lot of buzz and we’re thrilled to see passionate debates unfolding! So much so we’re asking you to share your designs. We love our version, but we’d like to see other ideas. Stay tuned for details in the next few days on this crowd sourcing project. Wednesday at 9:36pm

A few weeks ago I got a groupon for the Gap. So, am I surprised that there’s a new marketing strategy? Absolutely not. Currently they are creating crowd-surfing for the new logo on the facebook. Is a new logo required? Nope. I love the branding exactly as is. However, traffic was apparently necessary. Maybe that’s why a mockery of a logo was created? It’d be funny if this was done by a designer who thought this logo would work. It’s almost preposterous.

Anyway the Gap logo on twitter and facebook remains unchanged. The new logo only appeared on users sites and http://craplogo.me. I wouldn’t put it past them to return to their previous logo in a few days.

Do you think it was effective? Did you also create your name as a GAP logo?

Maybe all they needed was buzz.

Let me know your thoughts and join Groupon!

Have you ever wondered how many designers, illustrators, art directors, photographers and other creative people come up with amazing works of art? Most of these ideas come from inspirations that can come from a variety of sources such as: Food, Fashion, Nature, Other artists, Found Objects, Photography, etc.

For this post I will answer a few questions:
1. How do I get inspired?
2. What materials/devices do I use to record them?
3. How do I organize them?

1. How do I get inspired?

I believe art comes from many sources in life. One of the areas I draw largely from is my background (I’m from an island in the Caribbean) and culture. From my culture I focus on many things from the way people dress, the foods they eat, the colors that change their moods, how they interact with each other, the music and movies they like, etc. All of these things allow me to learn what appeals to them and helps me create things that communicate to them nonverbally.

Music and Food seem to be my two favorite sources of inspiration. I like music because it appeals to people’s moods. They can love, or hate it – the same with food. The challenge for me artistically is to play music that others can dance to, and when people get hungry, feed them so that they are content.

Hopefully this analogy was understood – in other words, I like to create things that make others excited and create a familiarity or happy medium. In music, the right set of beats, tones, or instruments make the listener enjoy the composition, when to others it might sound like noise. I love when songs appeal to me because it helps my thoughts flow better. With food, presentation is appealing but taste seals the deal. Nothing’s more rewarding than asking for seconds because the meal was delicious.

2. What devices/materials do I use to record them.

a. Sketch/Note Books

I’m never without a sketchbook – In fact, I have many. A few on my bookshelves, one on my desk, one in my bookbag and one on my nightstand.

I doodle everyday — during meetings, while on the phone, during commutes, and in the middle of the night if an idea wakes me.

b. Photos

Don’t you love cell phone cameras? They seem to make everything really convenient these days. Especially when you find something that’s inspiring.

I take at least one photo per day with my cellphone camera. These photos are then posted, emailed or digitally manipulated. I highly suggest practicing this, especially for references. Take photos of things that interest you: the majority of my photos are of food (naturally), patterns, colors that appear in repetition (I love red) and people.

I’m also armed with a digital point and shoot camera (for higher quality recordings) and a digital SLR that I take out once in awhile when I pretend to be a real photographer.

c. Video Camera

Fortunately, many point and shoot cameras and cell phone cameras are equipped with video cameras. This is the same idea as taking photos but I love footage because I can record better shadows, positions and depth. Photos can seem flat, and video helps you get around the subject.

d. Blogs

Writing also helps to develop your work. I enjoy this because I get feedback from the outside world. So feel free to let me know: What do you use to record your inspiration?

3. How do I organize them?

As a product of this technology wave, I use sites such as flickr, tumblr, picasa and facebook to organize my photos. I can create albums and organize them chronologically or prioritize them by ideas that I want to use in the near, or far, future. You may want to do so. If you already use these websites, how do you organize them?

My sketchbooks aren’t as organized as my photos; I scan sketches that I expect to recreate and upload them to private albums or prioritize them within folders of my external hard drive.

Tell me some ways that you get inspired!

Besides never being able to delete your profile ever: People readily give information about themselves such as their demographic (which we advertisers need), their likes and dislikes, movies they are into, products etc. I want to thank many of you for this because you, in fact, make my job a great deal easier. Not only that, I can search for you unless you restrict your privacy.

Everything else that has exploded after facebook (twitter, foursquare etc) has essentially found ways to work with facebook or included services like it. Even so, most of my time is spent there, not on twitter or foursquare, etc.

What will happen next?

There’s no other service like this site and the next big thing might be an offline service (surprise). Is there something to attract people who are anti-facebook (the service is so addictive that people who have deactivate their profiles sign back in to “check it out” again)? Can we create this obsession offline?

Interestingly enough, many people do not use mobile to the extent that we have adapted to social networking nor log into the site to take part of it. How do we reach those folks?

Those are some things to think about and as my friends attempt to create start-ups to become accidental billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg. I am sorry to crush your dreams but what are the chances of creating something using these open source apis to make billions or use as extensively as facebook. Mark cracked it and is milking it. We ought to think outside of the box.

Things that might work:
As traditional advertising goes, I believe it’s possible to attract focused demographics. Race; hobbies, location, job title, etc.

I am not saying there won’t be another social networking explosion. I just want to encourage others to do more than compete with facebook. Do something that you are passionate about without expecting billions. It can happen. I really do not need to have another social site to waste my time.

I’m very curious to hear your thoughts on this.

*Heads back to the incubator.*

I added a belt, stocking and flats (which was a bad idea in this weird misty storm that we had).

It was 54 degrees when I left the house this morning.

*smile*

What do you think?

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Fake but still awesome?

It boasts delicious chocolate that’s hand dripped daily.

I went there with Jackson (roommate from college) who’s visiting for a couple days.

One thing that you didn’t know about me: I didn’t start indulging chocolate until my post college years.  So my chocolate intrigue is still new and absolutely rabid. My palette is still discovering this sweet, decadent phenomena and sometimes I can’t have enough of it.

I met the owner Marc who has been creating these delightful experience since 1986 — almost as old as I am. He said usually he doesn’t allow photos but I was incredibly sweet that he allowed it (hey his words and Jackson agreed ha). He was also closing up but allowed us to ooo and ahhh at the creations.

I chose two of his “world famous” picks and 2 amaretto dark chocolate along with cocoa almond and milk chocolate malt balls. I must say that they are incredibly addictive! This place is dangerous for my palette, but perfect for you!

Be sure to check it out if you live in NYC 172 W 4th street.

Great movie, go see it. If Mark Zuckerberg is truly like that — he reminds me of many nerds I grew up with (wait a minute, I am a nerd).

However, he can’t add Erica Albright (even if I am sure he can access the account) because imagine what law suits might ensue. So, will it be forever “Awaiting friend confirmation?” I hope this isn’t a spoiler. Go see the movie (and be nice to nerds because they get great ideas that make them billionaires — just sayin’).

By the way, Erica Albright is allegedly Jessica Alona (not sure whether that’s true) or not.

**Jesse Eisenberg says he doesn’t even watch TV or use social networks even if he acted in such a successful movie.

We gathered along the 40s between 8th and 5th ave starting at retail stores. Revi and I decided to start at the Sephora at Time square. It was barely 6 minutes in and we got kicked out.  Following the instructions of the “omnipotent voice,” we left the store respectfully but not before holding a product up in awe, stroking a product like a cat, arranging a display very neatly and finding a product as close to 21 dollars as we could and pretending that we were on a game show. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to slow dance with the products.

Since we got kicked out, we waited for further instructions which included marching in a squad, walking in funny ways, giving each other hi fives, and freezing in place. Our spectators reactions were amazing. Then we walked to meet up in Bryant Park where we were pretending to have this “party.”

Other instructions were given and feel free to check everything out here at the site. However we made words and sentences, drew each others portraits, draw all 7 continents (many people failed geography apparently), and covered each other in toilet paper to create a mummy (Hey Rob!). When we exchanged gifts, by the way, I received a pair of sun glasses (I didn’t get the guys name but he was awfully cute – do you have a gf? *wink*)

Our final task was to dance as a mummy and sing Happy Birthday. I had such an incredible time and I am a such a huge fan of Improv Everywhere that I am already looking forward to the next task or event.

Photo by Chad Nicholson

Who’s doing no pants next year?

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I was teased in elementary school, junior high and high school and I’m sure many of you have. At that time, I pretty much sucked it up because the chant of “Sticks and Stones can break my bones but words can’t hurt me” was instilled. However, that’s not always true. Words can hurt and do hurt apparently. It all depends on how you handle the situation. I can’t imagine how bullying is for a student in this time. I had the added pressures of being accepted by others and meeting my parents expectations. Can you imagine what Tyler had to go through? This just leaves a terrible taste in my mouth and I’m deeply sadden by this.

His last words, posted on Facebook about 10 minutes before he died, were brief and to the point: “Jumping off the gw bridge sorry.” (source)

Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei (students who broadcast his sexual encounter) did violate his privacy by streaming his personal life online and hopefully this will be a lesson to many bullies out there (it’s just appalling that someone had to die out of it).

In a statement, his family said that “Tyler was a fine young man, and a distinguished musician. The family is heartbroken beyond words.”

I’m not sure whether his family knew that he was gay  — maybe he didn’t want anyone to know. It’s embarrassing enough that you feel helpless. However, imagine how something that was supposed to be intimate was exposed to the entire world… How can you show your face and get over it?

At the time that I joined his facebook group, over 33,000 people joined. I was part of the LGBT Alliance at my college and I must say the best understanding comes from being educated and exposed to people who aren’t simply just like you. Maybe if Ravi and Wei had thought of how their actions might have consequences, they wouldn’t have done it. This was apparently a hate crime. I feel sorry for their parents mostly however, remember when you were a teenager? You don’t always think through your actions clearly. I think parents should teach their kids to be accepting of others regardless of their sexuality no matter how odd it might seem to you personally.

I don’t  blame Social Networks  because unfortunately we think everything is fair game when it comes to creating content.. Do you see a limitation to this soon? After all, after over 10 years of me blogging — they are about considering the opportunity to charge bloggers for creating content (that’s another topic).

Ravi and Wei have both been charged with four counts of invasion of privacy, the most serious of which carries a maximum sentence of five years. Bail conditions of $25,000 (£16,000) have been imposed on Ravi

What are your thoughts on this?

Design Lady NYC

I realized that my Health Insurance doesn’t cover a great deal and I might be completely ignorant or lack the research for great insurance (if that exists).

So I called to inquire about a better plan that would cover the essentials (since I am not happy with the current).

Here’s what affects my lack of great Health Insurance:

1. I live in NYC (I don’t want to move yet)
2. I don’t make less than 20K (Can people really survive on that in NYC? — I asked this to the rep)
3. I don’t have kids (and hopefully none any time soon *knock on wood*)
4. I am not married (so, Uh this is the simplest option any takers? I think getting married to arrange anything is simply unfortunate)

So any suggestion on this?  Especially if you are a NYer. My next option is the Freelancers Union.

Dear Obama, I could really use your help here.

Lately, I’ve been finding reasons why I need to purchase things. Recently, I determined that purchasing a Starbucks coffee might be better than preparing my own and it’s all because they got me with their marketing. Yes, they won. My last coffee grounds finished a week ago and I haven’t yet made a detour to the supermarket to purchase any. So, Starbucks influenced one of my peers awhile back and she recently showed me her gold card. Naturally, I wanted to switch from my regular card to get a spiffy, shiny card with my name on it. Yep, that’s how they did it. I am aware though that I need to use my card at least 30 times. This means 30 x $5 (approximately) equals $150 before I get a lustrous gold card.

Just 25 more times… if I keep forgetting breakfast.

However, the other thing I love about Starbucks is the experience itself. I can reload my card from my mobile phone or online.

I can check my past transactions. I can use their free wifi at any of their locations. I’m never stressed while waiting in line. They’ve most certainly won me over.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I came across an article on Bloomberg Businessweek and the products that I consume won when being compared to other brands. They called the issue The Popularity Issue (which I found online here). I am only covering the main ones listed that deals with my life directly and will do a follow up post if possible.

Here’s a run down:

Peanut Butter.

Of course Jif won. I love Jif. I don’t even like peanut butter that much but that’s my default brand. The store brand peanut butter doesn’t seem to compare. For the past 20 years Jif also seems to have been America’s favorite.

Booze: Smirnoff Vodka

Although I’m a Guinness type of gal, I don’t mind Smirnoff (Kids I’m not condoning your drinking at all). However, “Vodka is perceived as low-cholesterol, has no breath effects, is mixable, and is part of that whole Sex and the City, women-with-fancy-drinks phenomenon,” according to Thomas Russo.

Cereal: Honey Nut Cheerios.
But, I love Oatmeal.

Deodorant: Secret
Although I love using Dove.

Car Color: White
Although I would prefer Red, I don’t even have one (I live in NYC).

Sneaker: Nike Air Force 1
I have never used Air Force 1s but I like my Nike running shoes . I also like Zoo York. My favorite pairs of shoes are from Steve Madden.

Flower: Rose
I love roses and I love hibiscus flowers.

Lipstick: Revlon
I love  Opi.

The issue also covered face-offs.

Democrats won over Republicans, Budlight over Bud, Cats over Dogs, White over Whole wheat bread, Beatles over the Rolling Stones.

What are some of your favorite brands and which ones you would never substitute for another? Would you take a significant detour just to get that brand?

Design Lady NYC

(Note there’s no dancehall reggae yet because that’s a much more difficult task)

I did discover music I hadn’t heard in awhile. What have you been listening to lately?

We hiked the same trail again (this time different cast) and the opposite direction (we went straight to the lake for a picnic). It was a perfect — it was only four of us. Sorry for all the others who canceled — I made some pretty good Tuna Sandwiches.

This time we did a bit over 5 miles. However, when we were dropped off, I ended up walking 5 miles in Manhattan from the Upper West Side to 50th street. S0, over 10 miles of walking today (amazing).

Obviously no running in the morning tomorrow. I’m beat. I will post the pics soon to the Design Lady NYC page on facebook. I have reason to consider deleting my personal facebook page by the way. I might post about that later.

Bonne nuit!

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Another perfect song for this moment:

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Your mood truly affects your performance during your daily life. If you read the  ”Attaining Happiness” post you can see how I approach my daily life. I am the one who controls my happiness during the day.

Hope you guys enjoy your weekend. I’ve been struggling with post ideas because I’ve been so busy.

By the way, that Michael Franti album isn’t bad .

Ingredients
¼ cups melted butter
2 cups snowpeas (or green beans chopped)
2 tsp grated ginger
1 ½ cup water
1 tsp ground thyme
1 ½ lbs chicken breast, skinless, boneless, pounded and diced (or any type you want: I have used the thighs before just requires skinning)
2 garlic cloves
½ teaspoon red hot sauce or chili pepper powder
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 sweet or regular potatoes scrubbed, and diced
Dash salt
1 small onion, diced
2 teaspoons ground cumin (optional)

Directions:

1. In a skillet, sauté 2 tablespoons of butter, onion, garlic & ginger for 3 minutes over medium heat.
2. Add thyme, curry powder and cumin and sauté another minute.
3. Pour in water and add hot sauce, potatoes and salt.
4. Cook for 15 minutes until potatoes are soft but not mushy.
5. Add the chickpeas (or snow peas) and cook 10 minutes.
6. In another skillet, add remaining butter and chicken and sauté on medium heat for 7 minutes until the chicken is white in the center.
7. Add to the vegetable curry mixture and bring to a simmer.

You are also allowed to add other spices if you wish before it’s completely cooked.

Not sure whether you’re familiar with the ads but Lone Star premieres tonight.  I got to see the screening yesterday thanks for @Klout who sent this kit.

I still have lots of popcorn left over from the kit. Also I love the beer cups and soda glasses.

I did enjoy it but I’m not sure whether I will be into the show like other ones I’ve  became addicted to like, “Breaking Bad,” “Nip Tuck,” “Weeds,” etc. I love tv drama.

My first thoughts: I think the main character (James Wolk) might be just a tiny bit too “nice” of a guy for this role.

He’s also my age (he’s a month younger) so I probably I don’t find anything in common with his character – i. e. the job position he gets himself to and the families he gets deeply involved with. At 25, are you really married to a woman with a big shot father in law and able to get away with a secret girlfriend? That guy must have some skill.

Granted, the show doesn’t say his age but his acting shows “young” all over it (maybe it’s me being bias). Just doesn’t make any sense for people my age. Then again,  he’s a conman right? I did wonder if this was more for men (you know the idea of getting away with two women) — admittedly, these women are hot but if he’s so tied into “doing the right thing,” it might not be in this complicated situation. I’m curious to see maybe 2-3 other shows to see if I will get into it. He undeniably has a great deal of charm and I’m not too familiar with southern culture so for the setting, the demographic for watching might not be me.

You do feel a bit sorry for him when he is brought into a situation where he has to choose between these two women. I realize this is how the show will continue for the rest of the season, not being able to choose… Let me know what you think about it. It airs tonight at 9PM EST and I might wait until the entire season is over to catch up (as usual). What can I say: Netflix was the best invention ever.

Lone Star

Robert Allen (James Wolk) is a Texas con-man who leads a secret double life. As “Bob,” he is married to Cat and living in Houston while working for his oil-tycoon father-in-law. Four hundred miles away, he is “Robert” in a second life with girlfriend Lindsey. As he schemes to take control of the oil business and finds himself torn between the love of two women, he must fight to keep his web of lies from falling apart.

You can read the rest on the wikipedia page but here’s the cast:

Main

• James Wolk as Robert/Bob Allen, a Texas con man married to Cat, the daughter of one of his targets in Houston, while simultaneously maintaining a relationship with Lindsay in Midland, Texas. He is in love with both women and begins to wish for a normal life.
• Adrianne Palicki as Cat Thatcher, Clint’s daughter. At a young age, she married her boyfriend from high school and had a daughter with him. Their marriage ended in divorce. She later married Bob Allen, seeing in him the qualities that were lacking in her ex.
• Eloise Mumford as Lindsay, Robert Allen’s unsuspecting girlfriend in Midland.
• David Keith as John Allen, Robert Allen’s father. He raised his son to be a con man.
• Bryce Johnson as Drew Thatcher, the youngest of Clint’s three children. He admires his brother-in-law.
• Mark Deklin as Trammell Thatcher, Clint’s elder son and Blake’s husband. Unlike his brother, he is suspicious of Bob’s motives.
• Alexandra Doke as Grace Thatcher, Cat’s daughter from her first marriage to Harrison.
• Jon Voight as Clint Thatcher, a Texas oil tycoon and father of Cat, Drew, and Trammell.

The wedding was for Joe and Hanna. It was held at the Crystal Church in Queens. It was easily accessible by cab (besides a two hour public transit commute).

I arrived about a half hour early and met with a smiling Joe (who showed me how to write my name in Korean).

The entire wedding was in Korean so needless to say, we English Speakers missed all the great jokes — just when they said the good parts I am sure (they teased us by saying some words in English). However it was so incredible! After working with Joe for almost 2 years, I am so honored to see this part of his life. His wife is gorgeous, they make a very beautiful couple (The rest of the photos are here)

Delicious meal..

By the way, every time I have Octopus, I am going to remember when Joe took us to that place in Queens for Live Octopus.

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As for what I wore: I wore a dress that I had never worn before. It is from Ann Taylor Loft and I had actually bought it a few years ago (summer of 2006) for a wedding which I didnt attend. Apparently I don’t always follow the, “if you have never worn it in a year,” rule.

I also wore a bag that I had never worn before (I might have gotten it in 2005).

… And some earrings given to me by mom .

I also had a favorite pair of pumps by Steve Madden, sorry no photo here but you can see the photo from the facebook link.

Remember to check out Design Lady NYC on facebook.

I ran the Komen Race for the cure again this year. I did it last year. My time is much better at  7′ 42 pace and my best mile was 6′ 47″. Last year I ran at 7’58″ and 7′ 11″ was my fastest mile.

Also the year before.

I did torture myself abit by running 4 miles the day before, doing my exercise ball and running the following morning in Central Park.

I’m still trying to be as good as @seb66 (he’s a machine!)

Anyway, nothing superbly new happened this week but I had such a great time yesterday that I thought that I should write about it. I hung out with Joris (now a reader of my blog and super new to NY). I love seeing NY in his eyes and I am so excited that he likes trying new things. Guess I have found my new sightseeing buddy.

This was definitely operation make a new friend, (Thanks Revi!)

By Joe’s suggestion we started at Kyochon chicken (By the way, Joe is getting married this weekend. Congratulations Joe and Hanna! I guess I can cross it off my list – 36 things for a single girl to do before she settles down – of attending a wedding).

Anyway, Kyochon was very well decorated. Not normal Korean Food but it was delicious! It’s definitely a place you should check out (mostly fried foods on the menu though). The Kirin beer that Joe suggested was also very good!

319 5th Ave, New York, 10016

(pic from Urban Daddy)

After KyoChon, we went to a tourist shop across the street and bought some Tee Shirts. I might post the one I got one day.

After that we headed to Stitch Bar and Lounge (another new favorite and convenient bar).

247 West 37th Street, New York, NY 10018

Then finally ColdStone at time square.

253 W. 42nd Street, between 7th and 8th Aves

Not really helping my diet but I’m excited for the weekend.

1. I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
9. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.
10. Bad decisions make good stories.
11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.. .again.
13. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
14. “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this – ever.
15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What did you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?
16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
17. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.
20. I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.
21. Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.
22. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
25. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?
26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent an ass from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever..
28. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year?
29. There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
30. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers.
31. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
32. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet my behind everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

May we realize how short life is and appreciate those around us who can be taken away from us when we least expect it. May we also realize that everyone’s heart isn’t always pure — however, let us not live in fear.

On September 11th, 2001 I was in High School in the Virgin Islands attending my U. S. History Class. As the day continued we saw the impact of the event on NYC and the rest of the country. Other countries sympathized with us. I wasn’t able to visit ground zero until months later. It had an eerie feeling then and it still lingers now.

God bless our country for this is a day that we most likely will never forget.

However, I bought a few items tonight. I also enjoyed this particular entertainment in the street:

He’s drumming with found items! How awesome is that?

I also saw this going on at Daffys. I honestly think they should rethink their advertising concept because apparently their customers are too busy outdoors than indoors where they need to make sales (we enjoyed it nonetheless).

I believe that in order to maintain state of mind, and in order to allow others to enter your life you need to be happy. I consider myself to be “genuinely”  happy. I repeat this a great deal. It might be because of my value system or how I grew up. However, there’s a few reasons why I maintain this: I realized that I might not have ever came this far ( I came from almost nothing). My future could have been written for me (might still be) but I have the power to change a great deal of things. I appreciate the core things in my life such as: I have good health, I have had breakfast today, I have shelter, I have family, I have friends, I have talent and I have freedom of choice.

Can you imagine not being able to have any of these? Don’t you wonder sometimes: How do people in worse situations seem so content?

It’s quite simple really. Just making the best of  a situation instead of focusing on the worse can greatly improve your life.

There’s a few rules that I follow while making myself happy. Maybe this will somehow explain to peers as to why I’m constantly smiling. I outlined it with a personal development website that I saw recently.

1. Happiness is your decision. There’s no one else that can make you happy — just you. I often see people trying to find someone to make themselves happy. Guess what, you will be as miserable or depressed as you are now (if you’re are). Not only that, your friendships/relationships might not last without you dragging the person down with you. This is a situation where you’re allowed to be selfish because if you’re happy, people flock to you and you can spread that happiness. It’s really your choice. Allow life to hurt you a little but realize you have the power to change the situation — you will feel better when you reached that point.
2. Be content with yourself. This is where I often ask the question, “How much do you really need?” Is a $10,000 watch going to make you happy? Is a lavish lifestyle going to make you content? I don’t think so. Why get yourself into debt by living a life you can’t afford or wishing you had what someone else has? Be absolutely content with your $20 watch from a cheaper store (that functions) — also no one will want to steal it. Don’t be a hoarder, things won’t make you happy. Basic necessities should have you absolutely content. Good food, good company and shelter. Also, this is the only body you have, appreciate it. Tall, short, skinny, fat, long hair, short hair, curly hair, straight hair… it’s yours accept it for what it is (if you need to lose weight, check the next rule” Make yourself better.”)
   
3. Make yourself better. If you don’t have goals, you might as well be dead. Goals drive you to get better. If you have something in your life that you think you can do better at, sit and write steps you can do to improve them. Go to your library, surf the internet — do whatever it takes to educate yourself on the risks and course it would take to improve.
4. Appreciate the simple things daily. I have been appreciating simple moments of life ever since my brother passed away. We don’t control the time that we die (unless it’s suicide — which is completely selfish). We have only one life to live and humans are so fragile. I guess that’s why I’m supportive of people who do radical things like: Choose a career they really like and marry whomever they want out of their parent’s decisions for them. Simply because we have a limited time to be happy (Unless you’re like my great grandmother who lived until she was 115). Always remember, in this life there’s always going to be heartbreak, sometimes you will feel like you can’t handle it — try to imagine what it would be like once you pass the unhappiness.

I did some surfing and found some really amazing Happiness tips and tried to consolidate them here. Be sure to check the resources linked. However here are my rules:

1. Exercise (combats stress, fatigue and unwanted weight)
2. Smile (it’s contagious)
3. Compliment (I love seeing people’s faces light up when I do).
4. Stop worrying ( I like saying to myself, “Not that thought!” — learned from a yoga/meditation class)
5. Buy myself something (flowers, a new top, a pair of shoes)
6. Be passionate about your career. (Doing what you love and being rewarded for it is a great feeling… it’s like you’re not really working).
7. Go to a comedy show/laugh at yourself (I do both, life is funny. Make sure you get a chance to laugh until it hurts)
8. Learn about other cultures/languages/dances etc (I get into random things like Salsa and I’m always happier because of it).
9. Meditate (even if you’re not religious — just close your eyes, clear your mind and try to feel connected to everything around you).
10. Don’t be jealous (you never know what someone did to get what they have. You’ll be very unhappy if you did something against your values to attain something)
11. Reminisce on things that you loved in your life (However do not dwell on them — just appreciate them)
12. Money isn’t everything (I’d take a pay cut to do what I love)
13. Appreciate good food (try to make it yourself to feel accomplished or order at a really  nice restaurant that you can afford and savor your meal).
14. Be appreciative of other people’s talent (however, do not envy — everyone is good at something and it’s great to appreciate what someone else can do — #3).

Well there are more but that’s my list! What makes you happy? How do you remain happy? What prevents you from being happy?

Resources:

Seven tips for making yourself happier IN THE NEXT HOUR.

How to Make Yourself Happy

101 Simple Ways to Make Yourself Happy

50 Ways To Make Yourself Happy

This year I decided to do j’ouvert for labour day celebration. I had never been, not even in my country. J’ouvert “is a large street party during Carnival in the eastern Caribbean region. J’ouvert is a contraction of the French jour ouvert, or dawn/day break. J’ouvert is celebrated on many islands, including Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Sint Maarten, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands. It is also a feature of New York City’s West Indian Day Parade held on Labor Day, in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn and Notting Hill Carnival in London, both areas that have a large Caribbean ex-pat communities.” (source)

My friend Kim and I started the night off by picking up a friend at a nearby party where I was introduced to a cousin who I hadn’t seen in over 15 years. We brought him along and his cousin.

We started walking to the general direction of the bands but they were steel bands not the actual j’ouvert party. We didn’t know this. We had walked over 20 blocks. Frustrated we decided to call it off. One of us got on the train and the rest of us started walking back to my apartment. Lucky for the rest of us remaining: we met the actual band coming up the street — so we got in.

We started dancing in the street to the music (also trying to avoid the folks wearing oil and paint). One of my friends showed up with some friends and danced with us.

We went all the way to the end ( it was probably 7am) and headed back to my place to shower and sleep (by 9am).

We got up at 12:30 to head to the parade. The best part of the parade is the food (to me).

Unfortunately the parade wasn’t great and we west Indians say that we won’t ever go again but we end up there anyway.

Right now, it’s only parked but the tutorials that I wrote still exists. Here’s the very first one.

I added a quick splash on jadersworld.com to celebrate a decade of my very first domain (not my first site). I’m also giving some things away! You would have to follow @jerlyn on twitter and join designladynyc on facebook. The winner is completely random but it doesn’t hurt to comment to increase your luck!

Yup that’s me 10 years younger .

However it was certainly amazing. I went with Steph (who is the most experienced out of all of us), Yvonne and Mark. We hiked the trails near Sloatsburg. The trains got me there an hour and a half later than we anticipated but we must have covered over 7 miles to get to this beautiful lake (which was worth it) from 3pm to 7:30.

I am so proud of us. We went over boulders, went downhill and climbed uphill. I was psyched mostly because I was out of NY for the afternoon.

Yesterday I had a bootcamp course so the trail was challenging for me since my muscles are still sore. I also had very little sleep (that I can blame on the neighborhood party that took place a block from me). So I took 5 hour energy and “sucked it up!”

I certainly hope to do it again! This time, hopefully the subway will be running on schedule… And I get my much needed sleep! Good night friends!

I really enjoy drawing (the following image is a pen drawing from the Design Lady NYC fan page ) and I enjoy telling stories so I’m pretty excited. The only thing I will dread is writing everything — it’s difficult enough to blog.
By the way, don’t you just love the internet? I searched for How to make a graphic novel and these two links came up:

1. How to Make a Graphic Novel on EHow

2. How to Create a Graphic Novel on WikiHow

However, books aren’t a bad idea either.
——————–
I found a document by Ruth McNally Barshaw, author of the Ellie McDoodle books – www.ruthexpress.com

How to create a Graphic Novel

1. Write a story. For best results it should be a really good story, revised and honed until it’s great. Script form is best. Pretend you’re writing a movie. Think about stage directions and character movements.

2. Create character sheets so you know what the characters look like from all sides. Keep them consistent from page to page (a sure sign of professionalism).

3. Decide on the look of your graphic novel. This is entirely up to you. Realistic – cartoony – abstract – superhero – manga – there are a million styles. Do what you love, and what’s easy for you to do, since a GN is a huge undertaking and you want to still be interested in it when you’re in the middle of it.

4. The lettering: Use a nice font on the computer or learn to hand letter. Legibility is what matters most. Decorative fonts are hard to read.

5. The layouts: Use variety to your advantage (if the tone is supposed to be boring, then it’s ok to use boring art). Dynamic camera angles keep the reader wanting to see more.

6. Drawing skills: Even the pros still take art lessons sometimes. Push yourself to do your best. Push yourself to always improve, even if you’re already great. Draw from life. Draw people, animals, plants, everyday things. Draw scenery. Try to take things down to their essence using the fewest number of lines possible.

7. Roughs: Draw in pencil to start. Don’t ink until your book is completely done and you’ve thought about revisions.

8. Intended audience: Your audience is your first concern. Make sure they understand what you’re saying.

9. The hook: The thing that reaches out and grabs the audience. Hook them early and give the audience a reason to read beyond the first page – and a reason to keep turning the pages.

10. Pacing: Give the appropriate amount of time to what needs to be said or accomplished. Example: Person is running to the store. Do you show every frame in a series of panels? Do you show him running in one panel? Do you just use narration and no picture? It depends on how important the action is to the story.

11. Action: If you can show it in pictures, don’t say it in the words.

Keep your characters moving, keep the plot moving forward.
Once you have all that mastered, try this:
Spice it up with quirky stuff.
Use fun words and lots of expression in the characters’ faces.
Use metaphors and similies and symbolism.
Be yourself. Do what only you can do.
Play with contrast. On a white field, the eye is drawn first to black, and vice versa.
Repeated motifs or themes or callbacks are fun for the audience to notice and remember.

——————–

I’m currently reading AYA of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet illustrated by Clement Oubrerie. I read the first volume and decided to check out the other two.

(images from Amazon.com)

This is the first one that I read.

This is the final version.

What Graphic Novels are you into?

Have you ever created a graphic novel?

Super random post.

As my domain makes 10, I am reflecting on the years past. Not longingly, but in absolute content as I get older — and hopefully wiser.

I remember John Boyd telling me that I would become even more conservative as I grow up. I thought that wouldn’t happen, I was a total liberal “blogger” — the term wasn’t coined back then when I installed greymatter to my server. Noah Grey wrote greymatter back then and it was in PERL – here’s an interview back in 2001. I’m reminiscing because my domain makes 10 years in a couple weeks. It was purchased by John when I was 15 (Yup, I’m 25).  I had began working for him when I was 14 years old and I really didn’t know where the internet would have taken me. I had learned HTML and CSS after being bored of yahoo JAVA chat rooms. John introduced me to PERL and PHP (which I wish I had started with first).

My domain’s a decade old!

(Layout before the domain — so embarassing) I used Paint Shop Pro, DHTML, pop up window.

Layout in College.

It has been more than 10 years since I wrote my first line of code (I didn’t celebrate that). I wasn’t sure of where the internet was going. I had opened my life to everyone who would read it. I am a tinsy bit more conservative now that’s for sure. I’m not sure why. My designs have improved thankfully (even if I am failing at my own blog redesigned — working on it).

In high school, I wrote about my family. My parents had gotten divorced, we hadn’t even known about it. They still lived together. I wrote about my feelings. I connected with a great deal of kids who used the internet as an outlet (they could have been pedophiles — who knows). I lived in the Virgin Islands and I dealt with the regular teenage angst… I wasn’t influenced by the world. I was known as Jader (when people call me this now, it takes awhile to process).

I wrote a tutorial on vectoring.

I used to be addicted to Half Project… I’m still hoping that they remove their hiatus:

In college, I wrote about parties I attended, guys dated. Heart break was completely new to me since I was simply a  good student and saved (yup completely Christian).

Now I live in New York City (this has nothing to do with my beliefs by the way).

I wrote about my life with my ex when we first moved in together in Queens, NY. I felt there wasn’t much to write about except corporate life and responsibilities.

After I moved to Brooklyn, I wrote my adventures on my blog now that I can see New York in a different light — sans the dating life of course. I realized that some things need to be kept private but I don’t ditch the opportunity to write about bad people (bad clients, people who threaten lives or racist people). I prefer writing about things that inspire or motivates. Life’s short, you should continue to be happy and avoid bitter or exclusively opportunistic people.

Welcome to my  celebration of 10 + years living on the internet. Look forward to something new in the next few weeks. I’m not a millionaire yet though.

I remembered my first book without pictures. I can’t remember how old I was but I remembered when my mom handed it to me, I asked her, “Mummy*, where are the pictures?” I remembered that I frowned. My mother sat down and explained how to visualize the words and imagine the scenes from the book. I sat with her, closed my eyes as she read a few sentences and imagined the characters being me and anyone else that I chose. I created them, sometimes not specific — tall or short, genderless, fat, skinny — I controlled the characters. I don’t remember reading many books with images after that. The first book without photos that I ever read was the Education of Little Tree which I found out later has a great deal of controversy now that I’m an adult. I found it again while passing by Strands Book Store in NYC.

Photo credit: Propeller Books.

It was probably 75 cents, a steal really. I’m a tiny bit appalled when books are that inexpensive but I bought it again to remind me of my childhood. I don’t remember what the story was about now since it’s been many years. However, I hope to reread it and for 75 cents, it’s not that bad.

This was my childhood in Wesley, Dominica:

For much of my childhood, I lived in Wesley ( a small village in the island of Dominica — Wesley, was named after the methodist, John Wesley) with my grandparents. It was a simple community with mostly farmers. Next to our house was a garden that led to a drop into a valley — it was very beautiful. Whenever I got a new book to read, I would sit next to that area overlooking the valley and imagine myself in new worlds, countries, and cities that I’d never been to.  I’d have careers dreamed up, lifetimes imagined, families created etc. My grandparents had no electricity (or running water) so most of my time spent reading was during the day before twilight. I was warned by my grandparents that the Kerosene lamps would make us blind or “strain our eyes” — oddly enough, I still have 20/20 vision *knock on wood.*

By the time I was 9, I had read most of the books in the small library in our village. I had also read many of the books and encyclopedias that my parents sent us from St. Croix. I was into Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, James Joyce, etc. Then a friend of mine introduced me to a woman from the U. S. who had moved into our village. She had a huge collection of Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, V. C. Andrews and Goosebumps (some of my favorites back then). She would distribute the books much like the library (writing our names down and the books we took).

Childhood in the Virgin Islands:

When I moved to St. Croix, I was exposed to the rest of the series that I missed out on: more R. L. Stine, V. C. Andrews… and I was exposed to Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, etc. I continued reading. My mom had a great collection of romance novels that I absolutely abhorred so she purchased books that I was into also and our apartment ended up looking like a library (still sort of does).

Now:

With the digital age and my own reasons for not getting the iPad or Kindle (well that, and financial reasons), I still read books. The best year that I have had in NYC was actually reading 86 books while riding back and forth to work for a year. I’ve been more into podcasts than books lately but I’m writing a few myself. I have two book cases filled with books currently.

I love reading science fiction however, my love of history and people allows me to enjoy non-fiction and biographies. For a period of my life I read self-help books but realized that, according to the subject, many of the “help” isn’t applicable to your experiences. I certainly adore a great mystery novel on my downtime. Here’s list of my books that I’ve read here on Visual BookShelf.

Which genres are your favorites? What got you into  books?

*We spell Mommy as Mummy in Dominica since it’s British influenced. I’ve only started writing mom instead of mum when I attended Junior High.

Or can it be told
Possibly in a haiku
I will let you know…

This past Friday, I decided to check out a live poetry reading/open mic/poetry slam in my neighbourhood, since I’m sick. To be honest, I wasn’t really into reading poetry. Although I have favorites like Langston Hughes, James Joyce, Maya Angelou that I grew up with, I tend to stay away when people ask me to read their poetry. I have, however, written so many of them that I hope to publish them soon (they are being edited).

It might be because I assumed it was just angst or frivolous things that I wouldn’t be bothered with or just me not being amused. I used to prefer reading short stories.

However, this Friday changed all that. I had prior plans that got canceled and I walked around the neighborhood with someone and we went to a gallery with many people gathered. They asked us whether we would be interested, all they ask was for a $5 donation (fair).

We sat and I enjoyed it!

I recognized one guy from the reading. His name is Brad Bathgate aka Blue. I encountered him on the train last year January 2009. He was selling his book “Pretty Ugly,” I purchased it with the last $10 I had in cash. This time around, he was carrying a book that I also wanted that day but couldn’t afford called, “Don’t beat your kids or they will turn out like me” — I bought it this time around.

Some impressive recitals were also done by Yung Remix (an impressive 16 year old kid who rapped and it’s on his youtube page), Mike, Nikki Dee, Blue, Soulful John, etc. (I hope I spelled their names right).

Most of the deliveries had me close to tears. I look forward to attending more of them.

Anyway, that was M. Night Shyamalan’s version. I went online and decided to see the cartoons when someone asked me whether it was similar to the cartoons. I can answer now: No, it wasn’t. However, I do expect movies to be different from the original of anything. That’s why they hire new writers to make it sort of the same, but not quite (Don’t get lost).

I watched the entire 3 seasons/books of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I got really addicted. I saw the final episode of season 3 yesterday after a month long obsession, much like I saw LOST and felt like I wasted my life away. However, these seasons was worth it. I do love cartoons and comic books so that helped but now I know what happens to the Firelord (Go watch/rent it yourself).

I saw all the “streamable” seasons on Netflix (you have to be logged in as a Netflix Member to see these results).

Book 1

In the first book of the Avatar saga, two siblings discover a boy named Aang who’s been frozen in a block of ice. But the minute they thaw him out — and the world learns he’s the Avatar they’ve been waiting for — his destiny takes a dizzying turn. With a crop of new friends, instant celebrity status and the ruthless Fire Nation on his tail, can a 12-year-old boy stay the course on saving the world?

Book 2

Can a mischievous 12-year-old boy overcome youthful and carefree ways and master his special powers over the four elements? Join unlikely Avatar Aang as he and friends Katara and Sokka leave the Northern Water Tribe and continue their journey so that Aang may master the element of Earth. In a future world torn between the elements, the Avatar is the only hope for the citizens of the warring Air, Water, Earth and Fire nations.

Book 3

As the third season of this Emmy-winning animated series unfolds, Aang wakes up to two significant surprises: The first is that he’s trapped aboard an enemy ship of the Fire Nation, and the second is that he has a full head of thick, black hair. Meanwhile, as Aang’s fellow prisoners Katara, Sokka and Hakoda explain the series of events that brought them to their current circumstances, Prince Zuko journeys home to face his father.

Honestly, I don’t care if I’m judged by this. Those were pretty good shows.

Anyway, I bought a case a few months ago and it’s sadly broken now.  My phone stopped charging correctly and I had to get it replaced. The Sprint Store decided to replace it for free (well, it’s insurance not quite free) I decided to get a few new cases to match certain outfits or if it gets broken again.

This was the old one.

The new ones were relatively cheap.

I really love this one.

However, I’m using something similar to my first.

What vanity cases have you purchased?

I think newsy is a pretty talented Photographer (his website is here and I really loved what he did with Patrice’s pictures in the past) and I decided to post some of the other photos that he took in Black and White (with me in them).

This is Cole from Bama to Brooklyn. She actually introduced me to Patrice (who runs one of my favourite sites Hell and Heartaches) and Newsy.

Cole and I used to work together at a previous Agency. She’s really an awesome person to know and believe it or not she’s really good at singing “Gin and Juice” by Snoop Dogg at Karaoke. I always have a good time when I hang around her and her friends!

Haha! Who gave me a mic?

I think this is a favourite of mine because of the “motion”.

These women are just amazing! Be sure to check them out (Cole and Patrice) and Jerome’s work (click the pic below to go to his site!)

You can now call me with my google voice number. I actually love chatting on the phone (texting can be overwhelming sometimes). Depends on what time, but I’d rather that you call to offer jobs haha. By the way, since this is Google Voice, I totally screen my calls (duh). This is a test though so don’t abuse it.

Facebook Like for Design Lady NYC Group.

Jerlyn Jade M. Thomas likes

Design Lady NYC

I’ll be adding contests soon so be ready for this. It’s in celebration of my 10 year old domain. Yes, my first domain is making 10 years in about a month! Countdown! That means I have been blogging and coding for over 10 years.

Also, you should interact with the poppy’s to the left because you can win cool prizes, also join the contest!

I hope that over 800 calories have been burnt like they advertised because I am completely drained. By the way, update on my vegetarian diet: I had 3 BBQ wings two nights ago. Something must have been wrong because I felt really tired and drained that day not sure if the meat helped though. I did feel a little gross having it.

Yesterday morning I felt like poo, trying to decide if it’s the food or guinness. I decided to simply cut down my intake than remove it altogether. The truth is: I need a nutritionist if I am going to make a significant change. I tried vitamin supplements and protein shakes but my energy level didn’t rise. I did feel great the first couple weeks. I sort of felt like a failure temporarily but I will get over it.

I also did something awful: I had a Ranch Crispy sandwich from McDonalds and I received complete hell from my peers. They were right, I did feel like shit after.

Anyway, now I am sick and not sure from what.

As for diets, I will continue having vegetarian inspired diets but with the right to have meat when I listen to my body. Replacing things like eggs and yogurt to me was very difficult. Also, I ended up having too much fried foods, like falafel.

By the way, shout out to Brian who I met yesterday because I don’t like adding people that I haven’t met to my facebook. Not sure if he wants to be linked. Brian’s a chef and he also criticized my McDonalds experience. If you’re on my facebook list and we haven’t met I think it’s time that we do. I decided to make that change about a year ago. I like this because I can put a face to you and your mannerisms. Also, we usually become genuine friends that way. I’m not in any way interested in being popular so I don’t randomly accept requests because I am in fact pretty opened about a great deal on facebook than I am on twitter or my blog.

For everyone else, you can join Design Lady NYC on facebook, it’s sort of the same but stripped and it’s all aggregated in one spot. Soon, I’ll start adding prizes (joy)!

You can get it here. You can check the artist’s work here: My painted thoughts!

Share your desktop wallpapers with me!

Anyway:

This was today’s look, I started a new gig where I will be styling and animating for the iPad and iPhone… haha irony that I don’t own either but I do have an iPod Touch (sorry messy room!)

I figured I’d add some “Jerlyn fashion” in here since I did join the poppy project (to the right of this blog)! If you like this blog tweet “Grow, poppy, grow! #jpoppy #coachpoppy” Thanks! There’s some awesome prizes and I heard that there’s a $2500 – really, who wouldn’t want a $2,500 shopping spree? Rhetorical!

This post will be semi-intimate. It involves my dating life (in a way), love life (in a way) and maybe touch base on my job life.

Dating and Love: “With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future.  I live now.”  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

My life is quite content despite random set backs in the recent months. This is exactly what has made it extremely exciting in the past months. It would be quite disappointing if I lived the exact way everyday. I get to observe others as they go into work and see the gloominess that I hope never to have — I smile. I just appreciate my life where it is right now, I’m happy. However, I had another set back today where I absolutely poured my heart out to someone. It’s something that got ruined because of timing and an insignificant person (an ex gf surprise, surprise). C’est la vie right? I still love with reckless abandon despite what my heart goes through. I often imagined how my heart looks like, possibly beaten up from the torture that I have placed it through in the past months.

Yes, it was someone from the past. When I reflected this evening of how our life would be now I realize maybe I wouldn’t like it. I did consider him a great friend for 2 years but when I think of the time that has past, it won’t be able to be exactly how it used to be. I have been single for 2 years, since my brother passed away. I did grow up in the past months — figuring what I wanted. We aren’t the same anymore. I’d moved on from everything else. Then I snapped out of it and reminded myself about living in the now. I won’t say I’d never ever see him again, we never know what life does to us so, I just won’t give it a second thought.

By the way, photo credit goes to Newsy who captured my element.

I don’t normally pour my heart out on my blog (I used to when I was younger) but it feels right sharing this since many of you admitted reading it (Thanks). I just feel like mutated angst that I need to get over. Other than that, I just have hilarious dating stories (I have a 2nd blog for that). Maybe I should turn it into a book someday (by chance the next person I go on a date with will read this post – ouch!).

Job: Don’t let the past steal your present.  ~Terri Guillemets

Very few know this story but I haven’t worked at Aviary since May. If it’s a shocker to some of you folks, I guess you missed that entry it’s here.  Don’t worry it needed to be done. It was definitely a dream of mine and I did it. I was on their beta since 2008 and I reached that goal but when you reach goals you have to make more right? Well, it has been uphill since then. So far, I’ve been freelancing in these past months and I learned so much. I’ve done things like designed devices, websites, pitches, brain storms for fortune 500 clients, banks, traveled, etc. I’ve learned:

1. It can be intimidating but freelance can be quite flexible if done right.
2. Reach out to all your connections:, I’ve had some pretty sweet projects these past months and it’s because I had friends who believed in me and my work (my job was not to let them down).
3.  You can never have too much money if you didn’t have any to begin with. (Save, save, save). Luckily I saved enough as emergency fund.
4. I’m easily stressed (Yes I am) if I’m not in reality. I can’t help it that my creativity leaves me in an imaginative state.
5. You might have to pretend to be the mafia to get paid. I haven’t been paid on time by an agency that I worked for since June 29th. It’s now August 9th, I had only been paid 1 check. I was supposed to receive 2. They weren’t on time with the first. I had to send them a very strong email earlier. Hopefully I will get paid by this weekend. Apparently everyone I owe wants to get paid on time, doesn’t seem to be the same for people who owe me.
6. Balance is essential. Sleep, diet and exercise! (I have bootcamp in the morning).
7. Your friends and family are supportive (well most are). Keep them close!  I have undying love for my friends now. They have been so great to me. I LOVE them and I wish I could tell them everyday how I feel. I feel honored/blessed to be inspired by them and appreciated by them and the feeling is mutual! Plus, my family just rocks – enough said.
8. I’m talented. F’ it! I said it! I earned it! I’ve been coding since I was 11. I’ve built my PC, crashed it, formated, and installed OS on it. I went to a really great school even if I grew up poor. Got scholarships, came to a country that I had barely visited and made it my home. Made honor role all through High School and Deans List all through college. Became a published illustrator reached my dreams and more. Felt heartbreaks to sustain my dreams! F’ it, I earned it. *insert Mel Gibson catching his breath here [haha if you don't know what that means  you fail pop culture]* This is the first time that I had to admit that I deserve being conceited and I WORKED hard. (It’s possible that God might not like this post).
9. Keep setting goals. My ultimate goal is to reach a point where I can work pro bono. I want to make others happy. A wise man told me that in order to helps others I need to help myself get out of my situation first, I’m doing that and giving good back into the world while that happens.