Posts Tagged ‘los angeles’

Brown is the happiest color of all

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , ,
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white frame sunglassesLately I’ve been wearing a pair of white-frame sunglasses that I got at the LA County Fair.  They’re modeled to resemble Ray Bans (I think that’s what they’re called) and because of their shape, they fit my face easily.  I often run into trouble finding sunglasses that fit my head because I tend to have a wider distance between temples.  Most sunglasses hug my eyes and leave red marks on my cheeks after wearing them for awhile.  I usually end up with a headache too.

It’s a fortunate thing that I bought this pair, because I’ve been using it consistently ever since.  It seems the more you wear shades, the more you need them.  Is it just my imagination or have my eyes really gotten more sensitive to sunlight?  Whatever the case, psychologically at least, I need sunglasses on a bright day.  I actually just got these on a whim at the fair because I thought that the white frames were outrageous enough to be silly, yet mainstream enough to not get stares.  I’m always on the lookout for a snug pair that will fit my face and I suppose now I understand why the real Ray Bans are so expensive.

Well, using and abusing the white pair so much, I found one day that I didn’t know which bag I had it buried in.  My purses become black holes, so it was hopeless to find the things without dumping out the entire contents of my bags.  Unfortunately, I was on a time crunch, so I grabbed the first pair I could find – a brown pair I’d bought a long time ago.  I think I got them at my favorite (and now non-existent) shop in Westwood, Good Choice Gifts.  I do remember I had gotten the matching black pair because I couldn’t decide (as usually is the case).  I’ve since misplaced the black version.

Look at how happy I am!

Look at how happy I am!

I ran off, sunglasses in tow and put them on just before driving the car out of the garage.  And suddenly, bam.  The world looked beautiful, happy, better.  After so long wearing my black shades, I had forgotten the miracle a little brown shading can do for your eyes.  Forget rose-colored glasses!  Brown is most cheerful color of all.

If you’ve never owned a pair of brown sunglasses, I highly recommend them!  I’d say lighter shades of brown are better, giving just enough tint to the world without darkening it too much.  Filtering everything through this new lens on life makes greens greener, blues bluer, and everything richer!  I swear the sky has never looked so appealing than when I saw it through these sunglasses.

And hey, if the world looks happier to you, you’ll probably end up being happier too!  🙂

Bleeding Blue & Gold

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Belonging to an alumnus whose nickname is Frisbee (because he was on the Ultimate team).

Belonging to an alumnus whose nickname is Frisbee (because he was on the Ultimate team).

Our class gift was far from exciting, but I'm still a proud '08er.

Our class gift was far from exciting, but I'm still a proud '08er.

I'm totally getting myself one of these when I own my own car.

I'm totally getting myself one of these when I own my own car.

Opportunity Green Conference 2009

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , , , ,
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opportunity green 2009It’s been a long and exhausting weekend for us at Opportunity Green, as we worked long and hard to throw a fantastic conference for everyone.  A lot of lessons have been learned on my end, watching how the intensely crazy registration panned out for us and getting a behind-the-scenes look at how things were running.  We didn’t expect so many people to show up to the event, so it was challenging to handle the overload in capacity, but it’s great that we got so many interested people to attend.  All in all I had a rewarding experience, getting great feedback from participants who were so thankful and appreciative!

Working the registration table for Speakers, Sponsors, and Press!

Working the registration table for speakers, sponsors, and press!

I’ve also had some fabulous conversations come out of these past couple of days, as I randomly chatted with other volunteers, a few sponsors, and some of the attendees.  It’s wonderful that people are so friendly and most were very patient with us.  Granted, registration delays were probably expected for those who showed up without being registered online already.  Things also worked so well because we had dedicated interns diligently working from the wee morning hours til late in the evening, volunteering our entire weekend to make this event happen.  Of course, the OG full-timers were working even harder, sleeping less, staying longer, but never complaining about how exhausted they must have been.

Many a time we had to be resourceful, giving, and downright creative to get the work done, but as one of our staff pointed out, we never lost our cool.  It never occurred to me just how useful that must have been in keeping everything running smoothly, but it’s true!  I suppose that’s a large part of why the participants were so enthusiastic about their experience at the conference, because they never saw any of the fires we were putting out throughout the day.  That’s exactly how things should be!  It will get hectic and overwhelming at an event of this scale, but with everyone working the event being level-headed and patient, we got through just fine.

Now it’s time to enjoy the trappings I did manage to get from the conference (like these awesome bamboo USB drives from MINI USA and a lovely Whitelines notebook) and let my body recover.  Everything aches or throbs and my mind is so cloudy I keep on making typo errors, but I’m glad to know that tomorrow I will have no more physically draining activities.  Rather, I’ll be working hard on my sample entries for Change.org, as I apply to be a freelance blogger for them while I look for a job and try to get more involved in the green space.

County fair animals

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , , , ,
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black widow

hedgehogs

snake

long quill porcupine

camel

ostrich

leaping dog

scary parrot

sleepy porcupine

sloth

baby goats

baby sheep

baby chicks

timid bunny drinking water

shaggy bunny

queen bee

Queen bee: she's the one with the yellow dot.

Oddities

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How'd you like to find this in your bathroom stall?

How'd you like to find this in your bathroom stall?

Sooo my friend uses her phone with this sticker still on it.  o.O

Sooo my friend uses her phone with this sticker still on it. o.O

Well, this is the pedestrian crossing button I would have pressed to try to get the white man to show up sooner, but...

Well, this is the pedestrian crossing button I would have pressed to try to get the white man to show up sooner, but...

Gusty day

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , ,
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photo credit: WGB Photography on flickr

photo credit: WGB Photography on flickr

Indoors, with the windows open and suddenly the wind picks up.  Clouds loom overhead, cooling the air.  Doors rattle with the passing gusts and an eerie feeling settles.  Outside, the tree shakes its branches, letting down a shower of leaves.  Only the strong ones hold on as the dying ones drift to the ground, creating a loud rustling noise.  It’s too dark to not turn on the lights, but too bright with them.  The air thickens with the gloom of a potential storm, heavy with unseen particles.  Everything feels ominous.

On the drive home, an ambulance approaches from the right at an intersection, howling to get vehicles out of its way.  Stopped at the intersection, you wait for it to make its turn towards the buildings behind you.  The ones you just left.  As firetrucks honk their way from the opposite end, turning in the same direction as the ambulance, you wonder if they will go near where you just had been.  Did the weather bring along with it trouble?  A foreboding sense creeps up on you as you drive off towards home.  Away from danger, away from trouble, you hope.

At the next intersection, leaves swirl in furious spirals in front of you as you wait for the red light to change.  All the excess from nearby trees has been brought down to clutter the curbside.  With each car that passes, another puff of dust is left in its wake, blurring your vision.  You watch as the palms sway vigorously, so high up.  One has even thrashed down a frond that lies forlornly in the road, being run over by the traffic passing by.  For a moment you wonder if the apocalypse could start like this – just a dreary, troublesome day… much like when the Santa Ana winds blow and bring with them strange behavior.

Unexpectedly, you feel your car move.  Did someone just bump into you?  You check in your mirrors and find nothing wrong.  All the cars are a safe distance away.  The car moves again.  This time you recognize it – the gentle rocking from a surge of wind.  You didn’t realize the rushing air had reached down low to shake your car.  After all, it was just the treetops that were affected, right?  But no, the undeniable push of the winds tells you otherwise and you wonder if this is how it feels to be in your car during an earthquake.

What an odd day.

Roadside notables

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , ,
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Hey, he's not supposed to be there...

Hey, he's not supposed to be there...

New age street lamp.  So bright!!!

New age street lamp. So bright!!!

As if they weren't looming enough already.

As if they weren't looming enough already.

Now that's a prominent entrance that I never noticed before!

Now that's a prominent entrance that I never noticed before!

Unique cars

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , , , , ,
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Seems like this type of black paint job is the new fad now.

Seems like this type of black paint job is the new fad now.

Gosh, this thing was TINY!  How do people fit?!

Gosh, this thing was TINY! How do people fit?!

Pity they had to ruin it for the sake of filming.

Pity they had to ruin it for the sake of filming.

Environmentaland

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , , , ,
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environmentaland signOn Wednesday I had a fabulous time volunteering for Global Inheritance, which is a non-profit that opened up Environmentaland on Hollywood and Highland awhile back (October 1st, to be exact).  Tuesday night was a public party to celebrate the brief three weeks that the interactive theme park was there and Wednesday was the final closing party, exclusively for people affiliated with the environmental playland.  Not knowing that it was a closing party (and thinking it was an opening one), I was super excited to share the place with my friends.  It’s a pity they won’t be able to enjoy it.  Perhaps we’ll catch them again when they come round to LA next (and hopefully they will!).

The Global Inheritance logo.

The Global Inheritance logo.

You can kind of see how it wraps and overlays...

You can kind of see how it wraps and overlays...

I started off the night helping set up the food tables and arranging food on them.  I then needed to adorn myself with an Environmentaland t-shirt, so I went to stand in line at the screen printing station.  Sustainable Edition American Apparel t-shirts were available in men’s and women’s sizes.  I took the appropriate one and carefully looked at the six design options, of which we were allowed to choose three to put on our shirts, wherever we wanted.  I knew I wanted the purple one with a whale because not only was it in my favorite color, the whale is just adorable.  I also knew that I liked the faintness of the polar bear one – it would be present, but not drawing too much attention.  Then came the final decision: a cool message or cool design?  I liked both the “Make Love, Not Trash” and the Hit+Run designs and it was hard to choose, but I eventually settled on the former because I liked how it was multiple colors and the message itself was just too cute.  The Hit+Run was harder to “get” and didn’t quite make an impact or statement.

A screen printing machine!  It seriously takes like five minutes from start to wear.

A screen printing machine! It seriously takes like five minutes from start to wear.

I wonder how many volts I was generating... I couldn't see the screen showing the numbers.

I wonder how many volts I was generating... I couldn't see the screen showing the numbers.

Next came the positioning!  Once again, the purple whale was easy – I just wanted it on the chest.  Pretty straightforward.  I’m also a huge fan of having something on the side, kind of wrapping around, so I decided the polar bear would go well there.  The MLNT one I then knew should go on the back, but when I envisioned it I was thinking on the shoulder, but because I didn’t specify, the guy put it on the bottom, overlaying the polar bear.  I quite liked the way he did that – it was his personal flair and style, which put an artistic feel to it.  Extremely pleased with my new shirt, I put it on and got ready to help out at a station only to get called away to join the spinners outside.

Eight bikes were set up, all rigged to a generator battery thing contained inside a large glass box.  That hooked up to a TV that would only run if we provided the power through spinning.  Some volunteers were lined up to participate and we grabbed two people off the street, bribing them with free t-shirts and food.  As we were getting ready to start, suddenly Spiderman came out of nowhere and began to use the bike on the end.  Excited, I tried to recruit him too, but he had to go make some money.  He did say he’d send some people our way though!  After he left, we got on and began to pedal.  There wasn’t much resistance at first and I got overly eager, so I expended a lot of energy at the beginning and wore out pretty quickly.  Soon enough, I was breathing harder and my poor new shirt was getting worn.  We continued on (on and off) for about 20-30 minutes and called it a night from there.

In case you wanted to see how we were powering the TV.

In case you wanted to see how we were powering the TV.

Catered by Lucky Strike, the bowling alley next door!

Catered by Lucky Strike, the bowling alley next door!

I went back in to take care of the food for a bit before taking over the registration table for another volunteer.  I ended up there for the rest of the night, greeting people as they came in and making sure they were on our guest list.  A couple of people wandered in acting like they belonged there until they saw I had a guest list, then asked what we were all about before sauntering off.  A few times, the security guard had to chase someone who walked by too fast, ignoring my calls to come check in with me at the table.  Some other staffers came by to chat so I wouldn’t be too lonely when things were slow at the door, which was nice.  Visitors got score sheets from me, which they could use to keep track of points they earned for participating at each station.  Then, in true Chuck-E-Cheese style, you could redeem your points for prizes – in this case, really cool ones!  They had skate decks and Camelbaks and even Coachella tickets for the highest scorers!

Açaí spirit (whatever that means).  I have no idea what a spirit is.  Açaí however is an oversized blueberry-looking thing from the Amazon!

Açaí spirit (whatever that means) at the open bar. I have no idea what a spirit is. Açaí however is an oversized blueberry-looking thing from the Amazon!

Well, it used to say: "When in doubt RECYCLE," but as you can see it didn't stick very well.  Complete with wheels and handle!

Well, it used to say: "When in doubt RECYCLE," but as you can see it didn't stick very well. Complete with wheels and handle!

As I was sitting there observing the attendees, I noticed quite a few had these cute little recycle bins that they had decorated.  I wanted one for myself, so when I got a chance, I went looking and found an arts and crafts table full of things to put on it, then saw the undecorated ones hidden in a bottom shelf next to the table.  I grabbed one and began to collect things to decorate it with.  I used some of the glittery stuff they had to write out a message that one of the guys told me earlier in the night: When in doubt, recycle.  Basically the idea is that if you aren’t sure if you should throw something out or recycle it, you should put it in the recycle so it can be sorted.  Otherwise, more likely than not, your recyclables in the trash will go straight to the landfill and never get a chance to be diverted.

The night wound down and people filtered out.  I got my parking validated at the Starbucks and the guy had me tell him a good thing about my day, so I shared with him my volunteer experience and how awesome Environmentaland is.  He was sad that he couldn’t check it out since it was torn down the next day, but when I mentioned their next stop is Portland, he and his coworker from there considered a road trip…  So all in all a fabulous night, though it was too bad parking cost me $7.  But hey, I got some sweet free stuff and had a lovely time volunteering!

Some of the other wonderful exhibits…

You stand at the point and throw a paper airplane at the bullseye.

You stand at the point and throw a paper airplane at the bullseye.

A whale to greet everyone, asking for a hug!

A whale to greet everyone, asking for a hug!

Organic apples or not?  Can you tell the difference?

Organic apples or not? Can you tell the difference?

stargazing igloo

Golf course, desert style.

Golf course, desert style.

Every time people use it, they'd create a horrible clown honking sound that was hilarious.

Every time people use it, they'd create a horrible clown honking sound that was hilarious.

A performance by Jason Lytle.

A performance by Jason Lytle.

Plenty of media around!

Plenty of media around!

Through the eyeglass

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , ,
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hollywood sign

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