The Inside Tip...

Best Monday I could've asked for at the ol' office today. Makin' friends with the design director, staying late and working hard, getting to photog and sift through shitloads of old BJ vintage, scoring BAGS of BJ samples, free dinner on the ol' corporate AmEx, and new fans have seen the light and crossed over to the CxC team. Hopeful and extremely inspired. Enjoy some light imagery on the inside tip...

<3

View from the 21st floor....

Tales from the Hood.

Had a beautiful weekend with just the right amount of everything. Got my music fix Friday night. Got my productivity on yesterday with my extracurricular BJ time. And got my city scoutin' on today after a delish brunch with my homegirl. Didn't get everything I wanted accomplished today but still got to peep some shit in Queens and headed up to the south Bronx hood to try to hit up the Graffiti Hall of Fame (to no prevail. But ya win some, ya lose some). Feeling hopeful and inspired, and a little more comfortable in my skin in this zip code as each day passes.


Enjoi.

Everyone's Doin' It...

Yea. That happened. Everyone is a designer these days. Rather irritating. But we'll cut Wino some slack because she needs something to occupy her time while she's waiting for the dope man to come through.

Anyhow.

Week 3 --> Down. Feelin' alright. I actually went in today on a Saturday to help the office manager @ BJ with some organizing and bullshit. Thought it would boost my stock a bit if Betsey and the designers (that were all going to be in the office today) saw me up in there on the weekend. I completely overslept and was an HOUR late for my little attempt at extra credit. F Minus. Not all was lost in the end though... office (wo)manager wasn't pissed... said she's gonna throw me some dough on Monday for my help (love), got free lunch out of it and got some dirt on a thing or two from a chick that is an intern/part time weekend warrior of some sort.... I hadn't been a real fan of this broad from the gate... she looks like an ex-ballerina that you can tell is probably from a really wealthy family. She just has an arrogance to her "look", if you can visualize that. Anyhow, started shootin' the shit with her today and actually learned a lot about her, her life and her experience at Betsey and she's a pretty cool chick. So I take back my judgement and am totally re-evaluating my outlook and attitude on some shit. Still gonna hang on to my dislike for the circus freak though...

I am really really looking forward to getting this small loaner camera from my mom in the mail for some BJ intern outfit photo documenting. My normal camera is way too bulky and obvious and my phone camera sucks ass, so I've got nothin' but pleasant memories and my verbal descriptions to shed some light on some of these anomalies. Not sure yet what my undercover photog tactic will be, but I can say that it will definitely be worth the risk of getting caught,.... and I've been in need of a lil' danger in my life lately.


Wednesday was a late day at the office due to the snow. The office didn't open until 11. I learned this news at 9am when I arrived to a ghost town of the 21st floor. For future ref, when the heavens dump about 15 feet of snow in a night, call in and check yo' shit. Anywho.... when the ol' crew starts trickling in midday, I almost lost my shit when Lady in Red rolls in. This intern, (we'll call her Kook for anonymity purposes) always puts together some pretty over the top shit but the snow day ensemble definitely takes the cake so far in my book. Visualize: red ski bibs (think your mom skiing circa 1991), red vinyl sneakers of some sort, red beenie, and huge white Elton John/nerd glasses. I almost fell out of my chair. The best part is this was just an outside commuting outfit. In doors, Kook sheds the snow wear to reveal her actual outfit for a hard days work.... floral leggings with a floral dance leotard on top, some kind of cream sweater situation and white ruffle socks with white chunky sandal heels. HOW THE FUCK DID YOU COME UP WITH THAT CONCEPT? Baffling. Now I cut this one a little slack... because she actually has a lot of industry experience and I think she's just a nut. With this said, I give her a pass on being totally out of her mind and wearing some complete nonsense. But clown gets no pass. Clown WILL be a victim of the blog and there's nothing clown can do about it. I thought you knew not to fuck with me...

Random honorable mentions...
*Went to my first show here in NYC... Blockhead and Emancipator last night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Had the SF homey in tow which was nice... just good to talk to someone who actually knows me and what I'm about... I don't have to sell them on me in anyway. Good shit. The show was rad. The venue was cool. The commute was flawless (Yesss! Even taking a new train!) and it was a good fuckin' night.

*Saw a drunk chick puke buckets on the train last night. Super rough.

*Saw a dude walking his English Bulldog down my street this evening. I can spot a bully from a mile away but had to take closer inspection to see how Pippy is about 129129122 times cuter than most bulldogs, this Brooklyn bully included. I fuckin' miss him. This is what parenthood looks like for me these days.

Not ideal, but I think it's effective. I REALLY look forward to sending for him as soon as I know what the story's gonna be for me with staying here or not.

*Had a date scheduled for today with a dude from "the website" that I was deeming my last hoorah with internet dating. Dude seems cool... seems like we're into a lot of the same shit, but there were definite red flags. I mean ultimately my adventures in internet dating are just to get out and meet people and what not, but even if it's just for fun with no real intentions of becoming anything more, red flags are red flags. As the months and years roll by I am finally FINALLY starting to take note of those flags and early signals of disaster. Because honestly, that shit always comes full circle and honestly dating just gets exhausting and tedious as shit. Anyhow.

Red Flag 1---> Too-Rad-Tatty-Syndrome....Also known as "my first tattoos were my knuckles". Dude has his neck completely tattooed, hand tattooed and knuckles tattooed. THAT IS ALL. Mmmmmmm questionable. Honestly just kind of tells me that the dude's pretty vain and trys to hard. Just kind of a poser thing to do.

Red Flag 2---> Our man of the hour (We'll call him "Posey") lives in upstate NY... about a 3 hour commute by bus to the city. Eh. Kinda rough. I've got a host of long distance friends at the moment. Not really looking for another.

Red Flag 3---> Posey asks if he can "maybe crash" at my place because it's such a long commute. See Red Flag #2. And um, presumptuous much? I haven't even met you yet, son. And if history repeats itself, I'll probably really dislike you. So we're gonna have to hold off on the slumber party plans.

Red Flag 4---> Posey sends me uninvited and unprovoked "head shot" photo text messagesof himself. Early warning sign (yes, another) that he's super into himself.

Red Flag 5---> Posey's super aggressive about coming 3 hours to the city to hang out with me. Really makes you wonder why he's gotta outsource the ladies. Run through all of em' in your own hood, or what?

Red Flag 6---> (Like this fool shouldn't already be cut) Homeboy works in IT stuff... works the graveyard shift and fixes computers and does online shit all night. Hmmm. Leads me to believe that he's probably allllll up in the internet world... probably watches a shit load of porn, probably has an abnormal amount of "internet friends" that he's never really met in real life...

So anyhow... just to eliminate any surprises... I do some pretty hardcore lurking of this character a few nights ago in preparation for solidifying this hangout. Yet another red flag pops up.... dude is on like 1291251291 social networking websites. (Refer to concerns about IT work...)

ANNNNNND the kicker..... our possibly very vain poser-ish possible date is on Model Mayhem as an aspiring model. And to seal the deal on firing him.... "Will shoot nudes".

Thank fucking GAWD I'm a lurker. And as the universe never seems to let me down, I was saved by the office manager @ Betsey when she asked me to come in today and help her out, thus making my date not possible and giving me a total true excuse to cancel.

And in conclusion, my adventures in online dating are officially over. I didn't come here to meet a bunch of tool bags. No longer will I put an ounce of energy or time into some shit that has no place in my life right now. And I'm a much bigger fan of organic natural attraction and selection. But hey, gave it a shot..... still not rad.

*Got some cool art projects in the works that I'm pretty stoked on.... stay tuned.

*Betsey drinks "funny coffee" at the end of the day (aka BOOZE).

*Betsey's boyfriend, Bobby, rolled up into the showroom the other day. A much smaller man and cleaner cut than I would have imagined.

*Betsey does all her hand sketches with a Sharpie.

*Got to hear Betsey telling a super bitchin' story about her mom sewing all of her dance costumes when she was a kid.

*The fashion show on 2/14 is going to be showing the normal runway collection but also premiering the diffusion line (a lower price point kind of dumbed down version of the collection) ...and all the models for the diffusion line are going to be BJ employees to get the concept across that the diffusion line is targeted to "real people". No interns though which is a shame... Clown would surely do a bang up job.

Tis all.

xoxo

By popular demand...

I've had a few requests for a little blog update action, but I must say I've been trying to refrain. I have some shit to mention that may be humorous or worth hearing about, but in efforts to protect the fragile feelings of others who may happen to stumble upon this, I feel that I have to decline on the complete unveiling of recent events. ::sigh::

...Maybe we can scratch the ol' surface, though.

Much has happened in only a short time of being on the East side. In some ways it feels like I've been here for months and in other ways it feels like I just got here. I mean, I kinda just did.... I've been here 19 days today. Gnarly. While at times I feel that my mad skillz on the public trans tip have improved, the moment I even start thinking that to myself, I generally bust a wrong move and end up creating an hour commute out of something that should have taken 7 minutes. At this point I curse to the gods under my breath and slyly smoke a cig in the desolate subway station while I wait for a good 25 minutes for the G to come back around and pick up my stupid ass. Live and learn. Note to self: Don't even consider taking a new train out of context from my normal routine without allowing a good hour and a half for error.

Things on the job front are good.... I say that with a bit of hesitation because it's a total mixed bag. Some days I leave the day completely inspired and motivated, while other days I feel like I'm not gonna get what I want out of this, what the fuck am I doing here, blah blah blah. But overall things are going really well and a lot of rad shit has happened in only two weeks of being up in the mix. I'm slowly breaking through the icy shell of most of the employees. Like I probably mentioned, most people were far from friendly for the first few days... But in their defense I have to remember that there are about 9231219221 interns that roll through that joint throughout the year. And as mentioned in previous posting, some are goofier than others and quite frankly give the word "intern" a bad rap. But all that aside, as the days go by it seems that I have been able to connect in some way with new people everyday. Keep in mind, I'm referring to workers at BJ... most of the interns annoy the fuck out of me. It's not their fault... aside from Clown girl, none have done anything wrong. (We'll come back to Clown girl...) They're just young and annoying. But let em' live.

Freak show on the other hand... would not at all be getting the verbal blog abuse from me except that this girl fuckin' deserves it. I politely say good morning to her and she gives me the death glare. I can't help but just laugh and wish more than anything I had a camera phone that would take some kind of subtle good quality photos of her creative outfits... her wardrobing selections are definitely something to be documented. I've been doing some extremely FBI style internet lurking shit trying to locate something on this girl, but nothin'. I will stay on the hunt, though. Something tells me there is much to discover that would be of quality entertainment.

So yea... fashion week is approaching and the BJ show is on Monday, Feb. 14th. It'll be nice to have something to do on Valentines Day... not only something to do but something super bitchin' to do. God knows last Valentines Day should never be spoken of again. And note to all readers: When your sketchy ass significant other is randly MIA on Valentines Day, try your best to refrain from going out and seeing any love story-esque flicks. Just do yourself a favor and stab yourself in the heart. It'll work faster. Or better yet, find that douche bag and stab him in the eyeballs. Just sayin'. Been there//done that. So long story short, I'm pretty confident this VD (hehe) will take the cake in all my past epic Valentines Day experiences. Who needs manufactured holidays anyways. Might as well take that day to celebrate apparel manufacturing. Heyyyyo. <3

Mmmmmm.... miscellaneous moments:

*The new sublet roomie has just recently busted our her passive aggressive communication methods. It was just a matter of time. I forgot how much I missed living with others.... Mmmmmmm... Rest in peace to the days of discussing your concerns or thoughts, I suppose.


*As I've done in the past when moving to a new city, I got into some light internet dating exploration in efforts to meet some new people and create some kind of poor attempt at a social life. The look: grim. As much as I'd love to go on another date where my company talks shit on me for ordering a Diet Coke at the bar, name drops on all the bands from circa 2003 that he is "totally friends with", and bears a strong resemblance to some kind of love child of Lloyd Christmas from Dumb and Dumber and your average hipster,... I think I am throwing in the towel. Again, I would never be so harsh on the kid (because believe it or not, I love all people and the dude's harmless), but the lack of general social skills in the kit of this 30+ year old individual is just baffling. And when you give me totally wrong directions leading me a good 1/2 mile out of my way in about 5 degree weather with not even an apology, you cut your fuckin' self from the team. Second date? I'm actually trying to quit. But thank you for the Diet Coke and and best of luck to you and your quest for your better half. She's probably homies with the Spice Girls. You'll have conversations that lead you deep into the night as you stare longingly into each other's beer goggles. Lattttttter.

*I took a chance and stopped into the China Star or whatever the fuck the hole in the wall fast food Chinese place is on my street. I need to make it clear that my block in particular (and the couple of blocks in close proximity) hold little variety for the hungry or thirsty. There's one bar called The Black Swan, but you would never know this because there's no kind of signage to let you know it's a running establishment. There is not a coffee shop within blocks, which is my biggest let down. There IS however a KFC a few blocks away, but I'm tryin' to quit. And there are some little corner stores here and there that are pretty gnarly and usually packed to the walls with older black gentlemen. So anyhow, I decide to take the plunge and give China Dragon Garden a try on a late night home from work. I figured you gotta have an ol' trusty grub spot in the neighborhood. While I did have to order my broccoli and rice dinner through plate glass and kept having visions of a robbery of some kind taking place while I was waiting for my food, I would give the experience a solid 5 out of 10. Could've been way worse. I would definitely give 'er another go in total food desperation.

Looking forward to how the rest of the weak unfolds here with the fashion show coming up... Gonna go see a dj I really like play on Friday night in Williamsburg with an SF friend of mine who is coming to town this weekend.... It will be interesting to see the crowd that comes out for this, and I'm happy to be able to get out and do something I like without having to wrangle up some kind of impromptu strange boy to wingman for me. Have some city exploration on the agenda for the weekend as well. Should be some good photo documentation coming your way...

And lastly, one of my favorite discoveries this week came from the internet. If you have not yet seen Catfish, please do yourself a solid and watch it here...

http://www.watchthisfree.com/movies/2010/catfish/

Shit's crazy.

Till next time...

Home is Where You Rest Yo' Neck...

...And I've had many many homes. But I think this one takes the cake on originality. My roommate for this temporary sublet is a sculptor. Cool chick with a distinct creative direction. Bless us all.