This is probably one of the weirdest things I've ever noticed...

Okay maybe not, but hear me out! Oh and just as a forewarning, I am dissing neither Gaga or Christina. Cause I LOOOOVE Christina's voice and Gaga's sense of style (although I admit it's a little over the top at times, but hey NEVER a dull moment with this gal!)

Is it just me or does Christina Aguilera and Lady Gaga look very much alike? I don't know maybe it's just me. The photo on the left might not be the best photos to compare the with, they look alike right? If not, bear with the insane lady writing this dumb entry.

Anyways, I think it was around the time Christina Aguilera's Dirrrty Music Video came out (2004?) when people talked about her fashion sense (or lack of it?) choices in an article. I think it was either Time or People, but I think I am most probably wrong! Anyways, the fashion Nazis said that Christina had no fashion sense, dressed like a cheap drag queen and that she dressed like she didn't know what she was doing.
The sad thing is, when I look back (boy I wish I knew how to find the clothes Christina wore during this time I am talking about)... and let's dress Lady Gaga in the same damn outfit now. People would think she's brilliant instead of insane. Granted, Gaga's outfits are always like how Madonna's outfits were (are?) but on steroids... and Christina Aguilera focuses more on singing. I don't know how else to say it: I think Christina either didn't push the envelopes hard enough or she was just born in the wrong yea. Had she been maybe 5 years younger or been famous later in her years, she could've been today's Gaga? Here is an example:

Aguilera in 2002

Gaga in "Telephone" Music video 2010

I mean, the idea is there... so similar... and Gaga's is a little (LOT) more revealing than Christina's... maybe I'm older now, but I thought Christina's outfit was tacky back in '02 and Gaga's is well... normal for Lady Gaga...

Anyways, I am planning to make a Lady Gaga painting (just a tribute to present pop culture, I can't always be old-fashioned) and was looking for inspirations online. Gaga + Lempicka's Telephone is popping in my head right now. I wish I wasn't so sick and my leg wasn't in pain, I would've sketched something...
At least there's Glee tonight. I know it's a rerun but I just LOOOOOVE that show, no matter how corny or cheesy it's gonna get

So I just called in sick today...

I woke up to a cramp on my right leg. It's awesome... sarcastic, by the way. It was painful and I couldn't move for a good ten minutes. This hasn't happened in a while, and always around the wintertime. This was the first in a year's span... and hopefully the last.

I was worried I wasn't going to be able to drive. It doesn't hurt when it's relaxed but when I push my leg out, it hurt like a motherf---er. I thought I could just suck it up and get to work... no such lick.

So I got dressed for work and minutes before I was about to leave, I started to feel nauseous and threw up. I don't really know the reason behind why (you deserve to be smacked in the face if you thought "are you pregnant?") but I think it's got something to do with the sore throat I've had for a week or so now. I was so scared to call work though. Gagging while talking to your boss = EMBARRASSING! So instead I texted her about it. She called me back and before we can even finish up, I was already running to the bathroom. I don't think I even hang up on her... gah!

I called the doctor and decided to make an appointment. It's on Thursday. Right dead smack in the middle of my shift. Either I get the appointment or I'd have to wait til the New Years... SHOOT ME.

So here I am venting out before I am going to take a nap... maybe later today it's gonna be better...

Surprises come in the strangest sizes...

So we went to my hunnybunny's boss's Christmas Party last night and had a lot of fun. There were a lot of the usual partygoers from the past few years and also had a few more I didn't expect. Joel Ray (the artist, not the singer LOL) was there and so was Taft McWhorter. I got to show both of them my artwork (via iPod) and they both liked a lot of my paintings. Again, I was told to paint more and on bigger canvas (dejavu, anyone?) and there's the voice in my head screaming, "ack, big canvasses are soooo expensive!"

So we got home tired but happy. They had given us a bag of goodies. I saw the two Christmas cards and being the weirdo that I am, I opened them up and placed them on the mantel. I was placing the envelopes underneath the cards when I noticed that there's a giftcard in one of them. It was one addressed to me. I then jumped for joy when I saw it's a $50 giftcard to Michael's. OH MY GOD, the Rojas' are a godsend.

Happy Birfday to Me!!!

I just wanted to report that yesterday was awesome because I got to hang out with the hunnybunny at the Gallery at River Oaks' holiday party. I still haven't gotten over the fact that one of them (Sobanski) is legally blind and he isn't even allowed to drive. His glasses are REALLY thick and apparently, he can't drive legally... And his paintings are AWESOME! They are bright and nicely detailed. I am still in disbelief he could do what he does. But then again didn't Degas and Monet go blind too, and they still painted? Very talented man. He's a little odd though (at least odd-er than most artists I know). He did give me some good advice: don't stop painting! I am a LOT concerned about his credibility though. He did tell me to ALWAYS drink white wine before noon and red after... O_o WTH?!?!?!

After the gallery we went to Cat Daddy's, a bar where my coworkers are regulars. Now, I am couch potato so I don't ever go with them (not to mention that the place is in a freaky neighborhood and I have the sense of direction of a goldfish!!!) but I went then because the bar was closing down. I don't know, I guess I wanted to see it before it was turned into something depressingly different. I grew the cajones to sing a karaoke song solo. And yes, I picked "My Immortal" by Evanescence. And this I did sober. Where did I get the courage to do this? I DO NOT KNOW. I think it's the 5 glasses of Coke (cafeeeeeine!)...

Today, was a different story though.
Yep, today is my birthday. And what did I do the second my boyfriend left the house? I made coffee and played World of Warcraft. Now, I haven't played in almost 3 months (that's a record for me!) but there is something about that game that calms me (and trust me, I NEEDED TO STAY CALM). You'll see what I mean...

The night before I was stressing about food because my boyfriend didn't even have plans on what to feed the guests. He said he was just going to get some pizza and pre-made food but I still worried about not having enough for everyone to eat. I spent hours baking cookies/brownies and cooking some meatballs in the oven, playing at the same time. Surprisingly I didn't burn anything, thank god.

Now I had expected at tops 14 people in our apartment: a couple with 3 kids and another couple with 5 kids, plus me and my hunnybunny. With that number, I worried that there won't be a spot for anybody. So imagine my panic when instead, there was like 22! It's a pretty cozy unit (BTW cozy is a euphemism) but there were so many little kids crying and fighting and arguing that I was sorta annoyed. The adults knew that the place was puny. Why the hell did they bring 5 toddlers that's not even their own to a party that has limited space?!?

Everyone finally arrived at around 7:30 pm. It was chaotic to say the least. It's like I am running a fucking daycare. The kids and the parents were screaming like motherfucking lunatics... and they ask why the hell I don't have any children.

I honestly had more fun at the bar, even with the smoke and the loud music and the scary-looking people in there. And if I get to do my birthday all over again... I'd have just asked my hunnybunny to take me to Todai or Benihana or some fancy sushi place instead of having a party at our place. At least I wouldn't have had panic attacks at the sight of my disarrayed house and the chocolate-stained carpet.

I got a lot of fun presents such as Winsor and Reeves Acrylics, Acrylic Medium Set, Taklon paintbrushes, an Artbin to keep them from getting lost and an aluminum easel.

Finally, A Day Off... YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!

So I slept in til 11 today, only woken up by a phone call from my mom... Who didn't even answer the phone when I picked up. That's my momma!

I grabbed a tall cup of Columbian and dragged my butt in front of the computer. Still unusable even after the dumb virus scans so I am restoring it for now. If that doesn't work I am going to have to reformat to factory conditions and I can safely say I will be one unfriendly person today. At least most of my music, photos and movies are on hard drives. I didn't have to do many transfers. I'm still ticked off though, as anybody should be in my position.

So My hunnybunny is throwing me a birthday party tomorrow and I am glad I dot have to cook anything... But knowing me I'll be baking something anyway just cause I'm nuts, but if he says I dont have to cook, I ain't cooking!

Working hard for the money...

I worked 14 hours straight two days this week with two of my jobs (and yes I still work ~30 hours of my regular job) so I am pooped. Thank God I requested tomorrow and the weekend off because I am going to 3 Christmas parties (he art gallery's, a restaurants' and a friends') AND I am throwing mine's on Saturday. Gaaaah!!!!

So I am practically passing out while I am writing his via my iPod touch. My computer has been screwy these past few days (stupid virus!) and I've been trying to run nonstop virus scans for days now... I think I am going to reformat the hard drive tomorrow since I am getting REALLY desperate to get back on a desktop. Fat thumbs + small keyboard = not so happy me.

Nothing like some noodle soup and a good nap to make me feel better!

I have been feeling like crap for days now, waking up almost every day with a migraine headache. On top of the episodes, today I was congested and my throat hurt. When the lunch rush at work never occured, my boss asked me, "well you're really quiet today. Something wrong? You're not living up to being 'Chirping Bird' today."
I told her I only had 4 hours of sleep, not to mention a sore throat and a headache. She sent me home early since the restaurant was empty anyway. I went Michael's to get the Essentials Three Tray Box my mom is getting me for my birthday and then picked up some broth from Kroger before heading home.


I tossed some stewing beef, mini-portabellos and the whole big tetra-pack of broth in a pot and let it simmer. Honestly, I don't condone leaving the stove unattended but in my defense it was very low heat. Anyways, four-hour nap later and I felt so much better!!!  I snacked on some crackers and green tea while finishing the rest of "Alms". When my hunny got home I took a break from painting and finished the noodle soup. Added the egg noodles, some green onions and baby bokchoys. SOO good!!!

And the good ending to such a crap-tacular day? 
[Insert Alms]

I've been taking surveys at e-rewards for more than two years now. I have taken online surveys since high school but this is the only site that actually had any rewards. I think it's been at least 4 times when I've received $25 Gamestop gift cards and recently I've stopped playing videogames. I still had some credit so I decided to use it to purchase Borders Bucks. 15 credits for $15 B-bucks = not bad at all (since 50 credits = $25 GS game card -_-).

Anyways, I picked up the hardcover book Anatomy Drawing School: Human, Animal, Comparative Anatomy for $10 and a small unlined journal for $5. Pretty much, all I paid for both is the tax ^_^

The guy who drew the pictures for this book is very talented. I wish I had that much patience to draw. I'm more of a painter I guess although I am pretty decent with pencil or a charcoal stick. Although I don't particularly have that much of an interest in anatomy, I think this is a good reference book if I ever decide to pursue art seriously. And can't complain, I did get it for free!

I am a genius vs I am ingenious!!! There's a difference? O_o

These Painter's Pal - Paint Cups (Pack of 20) is $3.49 at Jerry's Artarama. They look like the little condiment serving cups you find in restaurants. I thought that was too expensive for items you technically get free elsewhere, not to mention you throw them away after you use them.  But I didn't want to go bothering waiters for these things, let alone get banned from any restaurant for being such a cheapo hahaha!


Anyways, I asked my boss where she thought I can find these things (since she's the one who's in charge of inventory and grocey shopping!). She sent me to Ace Mart. I found a 250-count bag for $3.45 and the lids for $1.49. Gah, I feel so smart! Cheap... eh, euphemisms...

OMFG I am so tired!!!

I am sooooo tired, not to mention I am suffering from food-coma (Niko Niko's, oh you evil devils. Your food is SOOOOOO goooood!). But I just couldn't resist writing about tonight.

First off, it scares me that my mother-in-law (per se) is stalking me on Facebook. I say the F-word and she's all over it like stink on cheese. "I'm getting the soap because you need to wash your mouth!" or some cheesy remark like that. Seriously, she needs a better hobby... Hmm...


Anyways, I went to River Oaks today, happy that I got to talk to the featured artist, Joanna Purvis. She's very nice, down-to-earth, and very sweet. And she's very approachable. Not that many artists would just talk to you like that... I mean, heck some would only talk to you if you looked like someone who's interested in buying. Nah, she's one of those that are interested in how you feel about her artwork and she wants to talk about her experiences. 
The same goes for Mr. Sobanski. He's seemed like a quiet man. But no, he opened up when we started talking about his art. Hahaha. Old adage: Never judge a book by its cover. He mentioned that being an artist is not a hobby, it's a job. That the first thing any real artists do in the morning is think about art. I wish that's the case for me. The first thing that comes to mind in the morning is "I hope I am not late for work" or wondering if I was going to have enough coffee/creamer to last me the day. I rarely think of painting first thing when I wake up. He also mentioned that it's never too early to drink wine; white in the morning, red in the evening. So I guess to a point he's not really that much of a credible source. I am really scared to think of me being like him one day. SCARY.


I showed the gallery owner my works and I guess she liked some of them. Downside? They're all on paper! She said that it's harder to sell paintings on paper (I already assumed as much since the galleries I've been in always hosted paintings on canvas). She told me the thicker the better; the thinner ones need to be matted, glassed and framed while the thicker (2-inch frames AKA gallery-wrap canvas) can stand as is. DAMN, I wish I knew some of these tricks before today.

All in all, it was a pretty good experience. I am still a little intimidated by the awesomeness of the works featured in this gallery (not to mention the skill and patience involved) and I hope some day that someone else would be standing in my shoes and says, "hey, I wanna be just a good a painter as her!"

Still dreaming...