No one celebrates Christmas in Los Angeles

Fatty Catty flying home for the holidays

What better day to write about Christmas in Los Angeles than the first day of Hannukah?

It's 57 degrees out, Christmas lights have been strung around the palm trees on Santa Monica blvd, and the shopping malls are a mess. However, the reason I feel like it's Christmas is because traffic has died down and all of my friends are catching flights to go elsewhere. 

This is because no one considers Los Angeles home. Everyone who transplanted here to work in the entertainment industry, like myself, always take the last couple weeks of the year to return to our actual "home," This happens regardless of the holiday you celebrate. People just leave. We go home, also known as the place where we grew up and/or where our families live now. This is the place where Angelenos go to demonstrate how much LA has changed them for the better or worse, consciously or subconsciously. I'm sure New Yorkers feel the same way.

We go home and enjoy the contrast but then come to the lucent realization of how exhaustingly gregarious  Los Angeles is as a city. We won't worry about running into our boss somewhere. We won't worry about people judging our dirty cars at the valet stand. We won't worry about traffic. In other words, our lives become what our genetic predisposition tells us we need- normalcy and nothingness, if you're lucky. Maybe. But regardless of the our hectic lives and strange families, we still feel that warm fuzzy lovey feeling (and I could be referring to your grandpa's toupee). And eat a lot of goddamn cookies, so enjoy it while it lasts!

Wishing everyone safe travels to their families and loved ones for the holidays! 

Creature of Habit

My co-worker argued that I do the same thing in her editing bay every evening. I didn't believe her so she took pictures to prove it.

Monday 5:30pm PST

Tuesday 5:30pm PST

Wednesday 5:30pm PST

Thursday 5:30pm PST

Friday 5:30pm PST

Our visit to Case Study 22

Paying tribute to Julius Shulman

For Mikey's birthday, our friend, Miss Tran, arranged for a home tour of one of our favorite midcentury modern homes, the Stahl House, also know as Case Study 22.

It was an amazing home with a view of all of Los Angeles. The Stahl family still currently owns the house but we were happy to learn that a normal American family lived in this house, not a fancy well to do hairstylist (Vidal Sassoon) or a world renowned designers (Charles and Ray Eames).

The Stahl's were only allowed to decorate the bathroom. Everything else was off limits.

They Stahl's were forced to put a pool in by the bank who were preparing for their foreclosure well before Pierre Koenig had taken the project's helm and making it a Case Study home. In order to prevent their 2 young children from drowning in the pool, the couple had made the children wear life vests. However, in later years, the family enjoyed summers by jumping off the roof and into the pool.

Our cat, Fatty Catty, by the pool

A Week Later ... My Family's Thanksgiving

Fatty Catty after eating his Thanksgiving turkey

It's a week after Thanksgiving and I miss my wacky family, so here you go...

My Uncle Phil and Uncle Ed, fun-loving uncles with an eye for antiquities, opened up their amazing home to nearly 30 of our family members last Thursday. Uncle Phil had been cooking for a week straight. As well as my family's contributions. I feel like Mike and myself are still recovering. While activities were still quite traditional (eating and watching the 49ers lose) the menu was unique due to its size and how it incorporated some Filipino flavors.

Appetizers
• Fig and cherry canopes with pears and romano cheese
• Stuffed dates with mascarpone and gorgonzola
• Charcuterie platter
• Stuffed mushrooms with italian sausage and onions

Salad
• Cranberry and walnut salad

Entree
• 2 Turkeys (brined by my uncle! and for fun, we said that one was Asian and one was White)
• Beef Lengua stew - This was also added to pasta to make an alternative to
• Lumpiang Hubad ("naked" lumpia- pork and vegetables)
• Potatoes 2 Ways: Mashed Potatoes in Baked Red Potato
• Cranberry, Cherry, Raspberry Sauce
• Pork adobo and macaroni
• Beef Lengua Stroganoff
• Butter Rolls
• Sweet Potatoes with marshmallows
• Beef steak

Dessert
• Tiramisu (My Uncle Monch makes the best tiramisu, ever)
• Pumpkin Squash cupcakes with Brown Butter Buttercream and Pumpkin Seeds (my cousin Marisa is a pastry chef. This is almost unfair)
• Pumpkin Pie
• Spanish Pumpkin Pie (with almonds and no pie crust)
• Hopia (bean cake)
• Cuchinta (a sticky sweet rice pastry that you can eat with coconut, or not)
• Egg Tarts
• Baklava

New Blog Address

Hi everyone, the blog's URL has changed to:

my-pet-lemon.blogspot.com

Just in case you were wondering

Garbage and Creation

I've been absent from blogging. It's been a personal challenge for me to re-organize and focus what I would like to express here in this place for you. Initially, my goal with this blog was to keep my mother informed of my life here in LA while she resides in San Francisco. But thanks to Facetime (Thanks again, Steve J!) I can communicate with her on a different level. My hopes are to create a place that allows readers into a space that is comforting, yet inspiring. Here goes nothing ... 

Frankly, there's a lot of junk disguised as creativity these days. Towers and towers of garbage inventions and perverted artwork that have been mutated into something terrible that eats other works of "recycled"creations (much like pollution) that have be created by talented people in order to make money. You know these. They're the contributions to our world that are made to make a select few wealthy and are not meant for the greater development of humanity- commercials, re-makes, cookie cutter homes. They miss the mark when it comes to communicating the heartwarming characteristics of humanity such as nurturing, soulful, and thoughtful.  Tell me that art is in the eye of the beholder when I give you two tickets to Bring It On the Musical for Christmas. And don't forget to say "thank you."

But there are good people (good people? checked!) who aren't trying to cultivate and protect our ideas from the putrid clouds of "what everyone else wants",  "it's ok" and "if they think this is ok, then I think it's OK". We can only do one thing and it's to put ourselves in everything we do and listening to our built-in shit detectors when our senses tells us we're in the presence of greatness. Some people are so good at this, but those of us who have an affinity for the offensive need some practice. I'd like to begin with taking time for careful observation and engaged listening with a lean towards optimism.

Great ideas are all around us. Art and creation have taken all sorts of form in new media. All it takes to see this is to acknowledge the craft and therefore the beauty in most things. I carefully assume intention. It's not quite safe to always weigh our opinions on intention because sometimes the best part of a creative idea is in the process and reception. For instance, I absolutely love pop music. (defined as accessible music) I think it's made for the masses and often is the money-making pollution I complained about earlier. However, every now and then I come across something I find truly crafted and composed that it's refreshing. But one wouldn't notice the craftsmanship without actually listening. Or hey even noticing how funny your friends are in 140 characters or less. Or even listening to your friend's retelling of his motorcycle adventures.

Hint: The best way to appreciate is to try the activity (say writing, singing, etc) to see how much hard work it takes to become 150% better than the person next to you. 

It takes very little effort to dismiss art and crafstmanship these days. After all, we are overstimulated by all of the things we can do at once thanks to technology. We're always looking to have more time, but what are we doing with all the extra time? Oh yeah, sleeping. But say we take some time from our vanity or our indulgence to appreciate something truly beautiful whether it be a plant and its organic structure to the architecture we work in. Or even a logo and design that went into the TV show you're watching. There is always something to be grateful for somewhere nearby.

So back to Bring It On, the Musical... While this IS a money-making vehicle that was made solely to pull more money out of the pockets of Bring It On fanatics (there have to be at least 15...), you might just really find the performers talented or the overall joke of it to be worth writing about. Because you never know what will make you happy until well it makes you happy.

Things of Recent Interest

1. succulents
2. 17th Century British Slang (i.e. farting-crackers or bumfodder or arsworm)
3. Valentino shoes
4. iPhone 5 rumors
5. my Filipino jewelry collection and new Pope John Paul II charm from the Vatican
6. animatronic dinosaurs for purchase and patio furniture. tie.
7. pre-fab sheds
8. the Trails cafe
9. 90's rap music because it makes me laugh
10. 1/2 marathons
11. chicken wings

A demonstration of how uncomfortable I am on camera

My friend, Jeneille, featured my "this is all I've unpacked" ensemble on her fashion blog.

Outfit breakdown/reasoning:

1. LA Eyeworks Hedgehog glasses - these glasses are prescription and transitional meaning they turn into sunglasses outside. I figured they wouldn't be so obviously transitional with larger frames.

2. Necklace - It's an ebay find and my secret to dressing up t-shirts for work because I hate feeling sweaty at my desk.

3. Joe's T - it's the softest one at the store

4. Vintage men's Lacoste cardigan - Ebay. It's cheap. And I like the bigness.

5. Vintage D&B satchel - I really wanted a Proenza PS1, so this was an alternative. It was still featured on some fashion blogs during fashion week as a top pick. Woot woot. I got it on ebay for $15.

6. Vintage Levis 501's shorts -  Who in california doesn't have these? they're slightly big for me so they're more comfortable and well to prevent denim sweating. Gross. Plus they're always a little unexpected with more conservative pieces

7. Vena Cava x Tenoversix platforms - These chunky's help me feel feminine but they're sturdy enough for me to run after folks or wear to work.

My Thoughts on Home Ownership

After months of escrow and seemingly endless negotiations, we got our house. It feels good to own our first house, but guess what, it sucks money out of me like a tampon sucks out blood.

I'm going to eat pb&j for the rest of the year because the view is worth it.

Looking forward to joining the neighborhood civic association. I'll need a jello mold and ideas for the dog parade.

New developments: learned how to change locks, repair drywall, and the greatness of Bona.

And yes, there really is a countertop material in the color of "White Zeus"

Why so sensitive?: My Thoughts on Interracial Relations

I've began to notice that white people might be more sensitive to my ethnicity.

Earlier this week, Mike and I dared to go into a topic of conversation that spanned many touchy subjects and potential offensive landmines- our friends' ethnicities and why we are friends.

I commend Mike on this because one, I always win any sort of intellectual discourse, and two, it is difficult for him to address race or ethnicity without shooting himself in the foot as he is a midwestern white boy and I am a Filipino-American girl from SF Bay Area.


He explained to me that small town white girls tend to find comfort in other small town white girls because that is what they know. To which, I did not understand, but absorbed.  I thought, "Well I don't even consider anyone's ethnicity when I talk to them. Why is it that they mind mine?" The question was left unanswered.

So I then began to consider cultural differences. Could being afraid of darker skin be part of a culture to which I should be sensitive to? And how does my cultural identity affect those with this kind of potential but inherent reaction to me? And my response to this is that I'm American. I was born in San Francisco and went to the same types of public schooling that many of these reluctant white girls had also received. I have never retreated to solely Filipino friends, nor am I friends with Filipinos exclusively. And no matter how I look and how they look, if we get arrested in North Korea we will be imprisoned Americans, not imprisoned Asian Americans and White Americans.  I can't program that into their minds.

OK, so next thing ... earlier today I commended fellow Filipino-American lady and emcee (that's a rapper, mom) Rocky Rivera's toughness on Twitter. I also made a joke alluding that Filipino women who bleach their hair blonde are whores. Well something to that effect anyway.

"I want to be tough like Rocky Rivera. Not to mention she's the only Filipino girl who pulls off blonde without the whoriness"

It was a joke and Rocky got it. Sent it to her fans.

I then received a message from a Rocky fan suggesting that I was offensive and asking me "which ethnic groups can dye their hair?". It appeared that this message came from a white man. He was obviously unaware that I too was Filipino, but in my head, I thought, "wow he cares way more than any blonde Filipinos that may or may not be whores. " Clearly, he was very politically correct in using the term ethnic group, so I granted him the respect of a politically correct reply:

"Any ethnic group can dye their hair and/or be whores with enough will and resources."

So now I once again considered this oversensitivity to ethnicity. The entire concept that I'm even ethnic in this country boggles me and I don't know how to really find a happy medium. Either people don't want to speak to me because I'm so tan or I can't make tan jokes even if I'm tan because I'm obligated to protect my fellow tanned people from otherwise. Am I American or AmeriTan?

Well I'll send this message to the reluctant: I will be nice to you and I don't care what your skintone is or how you speak English or even your IQ. I will, however, exercise shameless discrimination toward egregious odor, ill manners and asshats (translation: assholes).

Filipino Pepsi Commercial

Recent Obsessions

1. Bolo ties like this

2. Unusual deaths

3. Genesis' Invisible Touch



4. Stephen Hawking

5. Pepsi Dry (only available in Japan)

6. Cooper, Seattle's Cat Photographer that's actually a CAT. 

7. NBA Finals, but only for scientific analysis. One observation is that the hoops is clearly too low. A second, is that white professional basketball players resemble ogres, but this requires further investigation.

8. Tyler Hamilton v Lance Armstrong regarding doping allegations. Cycling community has been in an uproar. I would like to compare performance enhancing drugs to plastic surgery. We enjoy seeing people use it. Plus at a professional level, it's all about money and really should be up to them. Also another sidenote:  To loosely quote Ethan S, "The biggest slap in the face to US Postal in Tyler Hamilton's 60mins interview was that his doping products arrived "FedEx or DHL..."


9. Palestine and Harold Camping and this man's speech. Tie.


10. Chinatown, the movie. 

A Bikey Weekend with the Tour of California

"A convertible!" by Mike. Commentary by Dedrick. With myself, Jocelyn, C. Horner and my phone.

Currently, I am recovering from a sun filled day of cheering and bike riding while Mike is at the Team Radioshack wrap party celebrating with the likes of Team Radioshack's Tour of California winner, Chris Horner, Levi, Andy Schleck and a bunch of cycling enthusiast celebrities, I'm sure. So I'm taking the time to share.

All week long, I've been following the Amgen Tour of California. Yes, at my desk, but very briefly and discreetly. With much excitement, Mike and I planned to go up to watch the mountain stage (because the riders go much slower and it's "easier" to watch) in Glendora and Mt Baldy.

I haven't touched my bike in a long time and I haven't done a long climb in even longer. So Mike just gave me a 30 minute start at the bottom as well as a backpack full of sandwiches. Somehow I thought the climb would take maybe an hour. No. Longer than that. He eventually passes me with his teammates.  Luckily, friendly older gentlemen that looked well in their 70's were kind enough to push me until they passed me as well.

Finally at the top, we found perfect places to watch. I had one goal- to use my cowbell. So we ate sandwiches, drank beers, and waited for the pros to come by. Lots of fun!

"You guys are going real fast" by Mike. With Hime, the peloton and myself

Once we descend the mountain, which was much longer for me, we recover at Lucky Baldwins to watch the HD coverage of the race.

Today, Mike and I then not only watch the last stage of the Tour of Cali, but also the Giro d'Italia and the saddening interview with Tyler Hamilton on 60 Minutes that revealed eyewitness accounts of Lance Armstrong taking performance enhancing drugs. This is only saddening because well I like Lance as a hero type. Everyone loves Lance! And frankly, it's becoming more and more evident that most of the guys in the peloton are using something, but not all of them are Lance Armstrong. And unfortunately the only way to stop all the drug use is to make the contests more "realistic" and to not be bored with "realistic".  Because realistic is ugly like my sunburns and my crawl up and down Glendora Mountain Road. Nobody enjoys watching that.

My Thoughts on the Impending Doom and Other Jokes

My former place of internship, Family Radio, has come across a bit of attention recently with their belief that the Rapture is happening this weekend.

I was an assistant editor/intern who was helping with Mandarin Bible readings that were broadcasted to mainland China. Although it was possible at the time to be persecuted for listening to such programming, FR wanted to reassure the Chinese faithful that there was a God. I couldn't understand what I was editing with the exception of certain words, nor did I strongly agree with the agenda at hand, but I hope there's no one sitting in a Chinese prison due to those broadcasts. So in the incident that someone is overly prepared for this Rapture and did something particularly impulsive like gamble their earnings on a losing Greyhound or bought a solid gold cowboy hat or purchased a fancy phone by Amp'd Mobile (Who's that? Exactly.), I hope that FR is ready for some reconciliation. And if this Rapture business is all inaccurate like homeboy's previous miscalculated doomsday, all of those believers just got flushed down the toilet bowl full of crap in Suckersville, USA.

Then there's good old, Stephen Hawking, who explains that all this is hogwash fairy stories and that religion is for the most part something that helps us cope with death. Professor Hawking has always been much better at Trivial Pursuit: The Quantum Physics edition than I have been, so this is definitely something to consider as I am also a believer in quantum physics. So hmph...

Many people have started to consider most of the natural disasters to be the start of this supposed apocalypse. But look- why should our super powerful all-knowing God be so archaic? My thoughts of this supposed "doom" would super God to then start controlling our bodies from within Jedi style and have us go against everything we thought we believed in. I MIGHT ACTUALLY BUY CROCS AND WEAR THEM! I MIGHT ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND BIEBER FEVER! I MIGHT ACTUALLY THINK KANYE WEST HAS MUSICAL TALENT! O THE HORROR!

So in closing, fear is completely useless- shit happens or it doesn't. That's right, LeBron.

Look Mom, I'm Tweeting!

That's right. I'm a lemming, but a lemming that updates that Twitter feed with thoughtless banter regularly.



It will be the new home to all my brain vomit, if you're into that sort of thing.

Movie Reviews

French fries taste better with catch-up

The Kids Are All Right, comedy, USA (2010) Dir. Lisa Cholodenko
Cholodenko's subtle hints at emotion were so delicate that you too want to be a part of this modern and love filled family. Amazing performances by the cast. But I beg to ask, why is it that Julianne Moore can't be in a movie without having a topless scene?

Exit Through The Gift Shop, documentary, USA/UK (2010) Dir. Banksy
An incredibly well executed film that fulfills an artistic agenda to preserve the integrity of street art. Banksy's sense of humor buys your trust and takes you on an unexpected trip through a portrait of an artist. This movie reminded me of my long lost love with documentary filmmaking. (Note: I had graduated from film school with full intention to become a documentarian like Agnes Varda or Werner Herzog)

The Tourist, action, USA/France (2010) Dir. Florian Henkel von Donnersmarck
Despite using A-list good looking actors, Italy as a backdrop, and motorboat stuntwork, the story's cheap literary devices leave you unsatisfied like a peanut M&M with no peanut.

True Grit, western, USA (2010) Dir. Coen Brothers
As much as I love westerns and the Coen Bros, I fell asleep during this one. Plus, young child characters who speak like adults are nothing but unbearable to watch. I'll leave this movie with John Wayne


The Ten Commandments, drama, USA (1956) Dir. Cecil B. DeMille
On Easter, the best egg you can find is Yul Brynner's dome in this Moses epic. DeMille depicts a rather colorful interpretation of Exodus through huge sets and graceful camera movements that reinforce the grandeur of the film. For a time when filmmaking didn't have the luxury of "fixing it in post (production)", this movie is as well crafted on a larger than life scale.

Princes and Bad Guys

So Bin Laden got X's for eyes, Kate Middleton became a Duchess, Chrysler reported its first profits since filing bankruptcy. The American outlook seems hopeful and this is the most foreign and awkward news to me. And here I was thinking Obama was going to announce an uncontrollable asteroid was headed straight for us and that we were all going to die. (Were you scared? I was scared.)

Friday's Morning Thoughts

People who don't drink coffee scare me.

That Diet Coke from last night did me wrong. So much for living on the edge.

If Charlie Sheen were such a winner, he would've owned a rocketship already. Hey winners, will you all take a step forward? Hi, Paul Allen! Not so fast, Sheen!

Kate Middleton's dress is amazing! Go Team McQueen! Too bad Wills looks a lot like Frankenstein now.

OK it's Friday and I'm back to work. Time for some throat ripping.

Subtitles Make Things Funnier

From Love The Simple Life

From 30 Rock Things

Things I have learned about my local supermarket

1. Do not linger by the gelato counter too long if you don't intend to buy any. The cheery guy behind the counter will happily give you so many samples that you will feel obligated to buy a scoop.

2. The cheese counter has the coolest sense of humor

3. Buy some meat and someone will cook it for you to eat at the wine bar

4. Samples are happily shared to everyone even if you go by them more than once

5. The good beers are hidden in the back for those who are worthy enough for them

6. Their donuts are terrible unless you have taste for sawdust or recycled newspaper

7. The unassuming coffee bean roaster is much more knowledgeable than you would think. Those probably aren't prison tattoos.

8. Try not to drive here