Tag Archives: A Couple of things

A Couple of Things…

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Playing with lifesized Tonka Toys

Playing with life-sized Tonka Toys

1. There are few things worse than giving up on a person you really care about.

2. Being served dinner by handsome firemen has been added to my Highlights in My Life file.  Thanks again Christine!

3. I love hot weather, hot salsa, and a hot man.  Definitely not in that order.

4. We have a small-time business entity here in Ventura County that has done nothing successful, continues to steal ideas from their competitors and undermine the efforts of those who are trying to make this music scene happen by serving their own self-interests.    You know who you are.  We do too.

5. I’ve never been a fan of Starbucks.  Instead, I support the mom & pop doughnut shop whenever possible.  The only problem is getting out without a doughnut…with maple frosting, or crumb on raised glazed, or an old-fashioned, or double chocolate cake, or…

6. WARNING!!! Flashback moment:  That moment when it hits you in the fifth grade.  You still have a minimum of seven more years to go.

7. Can you believe, I use to hate sports?

8.  I get that I need to get the mechanics down for taking a good picture, but I find my photos suffer when my attention is on how…instead of what.  I shoot what inspires me.  I do know in the long run that I will be a better photographer once the basic are second nature and again, I’m shooting what inspires me.

9. My next photo assignment is simply entitled “Addiction”.   Crazy fun!  Not.

10. If someone “friended me” and then they never comment, like or post…it kind of feels like they’re a creeper, no?  Of course, one has to consider that they may have a life and rarely check in on Facebook.

11. I worked in Construction Management for a couple of years and towards the end of one of the jobs we were overseeing, the Construction Foreman asked if I would like to try out  one of the big pieces of equipment.  I was floored!!!  Of course I jumped at the chance. It was amazing! (see photo above)

12. Sometimes the rumors are true! So often when I attend a festival of music I’ll hear rumors that “so and so” is expected to show up and jam. I had heard the rumors earlier in the week and because of past disappointments, I gave this one no weight. It was Moorpark College for Christ’s sake!  Well this past Saturday at the Ventura County Blues Festival, George Thorogood was heard to be on the grounds, and did in fact join Johnny Rivers on stage for about four songs. Too cool.

13. From my “Favorite Facebook Posts” file:  “Due to the recent budget cuts, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.”  author unknown.

Thanks for listening.

A Couple of Things…

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Boys playing in the ocean.

1. Saturday in Ventura was picture perfect!  Sunshine, Earth Day celebrations along the promenade at the beach.  Boys playing in the ocean (see photo above), music at the fairgrounds. Marty Party up at the ranch behind Two Trees.  Life is good!

2. Ventura has so much amazing talent. VenturaRocks.com is doing our share of helping to promote this scene.  Now we just need to get more people out supporting it!

3. I saw fireflies in person (in flies?) for the first time in my life five years ago in Louisiana.  They are freakin’ cool.  I thought Disney was pulling my leg on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride all these years.

4. From my “Little Did They Know” file:  I’m a sucker for sardines on saltines with onions.

5. I’ve never had a fast food drive-thru error in my favor.

6. I love music and I love live radio, but I especially love that sense of community when the two come magically together once in a blue moon.  The staff, from the owner to the PD to the on-air crew definitely have to share that vision.  I was lucky to be a part of one once.

7. On the flip-side, I don’t like corporate radio shoving their playlist down your throat.  I don’t like voice tracks. I’ve been unlucky to be a part of one once..for about three months. Sucked the life out of me.

8. WARNING!!!  Flashback moment:   I have to say, I really miss eating Trix and watching Bugs Bunny on Saturday mornings.

9. Clipper Nation Baby!!!

10. From my “Favorite Facebook Posts” file::  “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” – Mark Twain

A Couple of Things…

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Pam and Tina, 4th of July

Pam and Tina, 4th of July

(Originally posted on Facebook April 5, 2013)

1. No, I haven’t met Mr. Right yet, but I have met Mr. Married, Mr. Crazy, Mr. I’m-old-enough-to-be-your-father, and, Mr. I’m young-enough-to-be-your-son;  all, by the way, very nice men.

2. I’m a sucker for babies, puppies and Lemon Drop martinis.  Not necessarily in that order.

3. I have recently been invited to a friend’s home for an intimate dinner for eight where dinner will be served by firemen.  Have I mentioned that I love my friends?

4. Looking back and sharing some stories with Sydney from time to time, I know that I am one lucky son-of-a-bitch.  I survived my youth!  I did some really stupid
things…95% of which still makes me smile.

5. My email was hacked this week.  Bastards! Looks like they sent out an email from me to anyone and everyone I have ever emailed or replied to before.  So
they didn’t email to just my Contacts List.  I really tried to send out a warning email to not click on link.  Sorry about that!

6. On the up-side, it was nice to hear back from people I hadn’t corresponded with in years!

7. Okay, now it’s getting ridiculous; I’m not even allowed to speak during the Vampire Diaries.  Like they’re going to miss some trite dialogue that will alter the course of history or something.

8. Is there really such a thing as a GOOD cry?  I’d rather just be happy.

9. The only celebrity that I couldn’t look in the eye when I met him was Gavin Rossdale from Bush.  He was one good looking man!  Which leads  to my next item…

10. Matt Cooper, may he Rest in Peace, made it a quest to get me to say “I love Bush” on-the-air.   Of course he was referring to the band.  He was trying to record it and use it as a  “drop in” during his morning show to be taken completely out of context… Yeah, he was devious that way.  You had to love him!

11. From my “Favorite Facebook Posts” file:   “It’s OK to disagree with me.  I can’t force you to be right.”

This photo is of myself and Tina Bettiol, my old roommate when I lived in Fullerton.  This is in my dad’s backyard in Whittier, CA, on the 4th of July.  I think we were around 23 years old.

A Couple of Things…March 30, 2013

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Self Portrait

Self Portrait

(Originally posted on Facebook, March 30, 2013)

1. Happy Easter!

2. Every year around Easter, buying a bag of jelly beans seems like a good idea for about 10 minutes after I eat the first one. Then, not so much.

3. Peeps are only as good as they’re stale.

4. I kind of miss hiding Easter eggs for Sydney Rose and then never ever remembering where we hid them all.   Good times.

5. Speaking of Syd Rose, I’m sorry to report that my daughter has been sucked into the Vampire Diaries. Much more unfortunate is that Staci Brown has too.

6. Back down to three women in one household…but if you include the cat and dog, we’re actually five.

7. I’ve made my Facebook page private, only for my Friends.  I don’t know why.  It’s not like I have any, make that much to hide.

8. Could you imagine dating a person who never listens to music?  I had a hard time just typing out that sentence!

9. From my “Favorite Facebook Posts file”:
“A smart woman knows how to love, but an intelligent woman knows who to love.”
I’m shooting to be intelligent someday soon!

Working on my self-portrait.  I don’t even have to actually be in the shot, but it is suppose to represent who I am or what I love.  Did this one today.

A Couple of Things…March 26, 2013

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Surfer's Point, Ventura, CA

Surfer’s Point, Ventura, CA

(Originally posted on Facebook, March 26, 2013

1. I love industrious men with a plan and a sense of humor.

2. In radio, I had more than my 15 minutes of fame.  It really is overrated.

3. I’m trying to think of something I can no longer do because of my advancing age.  For instance, I can no longer……I’ll get back to you on that one.

4. I have to do a self-portrait in my photography class.  It has to be a picture that shows who I am or what I love.  Ideas are brewing, photo to come.

5. Meanwhile, I’m loving getting out and shooting my town.

6. 2012 taxes are done. And yes, I’m smiling.

7. Getting ready for Ventura Music Week June 7th through the 16th.  I’m taking the whole week off from City.  Should be a blast!

8.  Starting when Sydney Rose was a baby up until she was around eight or nine years old, she would reach up to my face and rub one of my cheeks.  Somehow it comforted her.  She did this the other day quite unexpectedly.  I just about melted.

9. From my “Favorite Facebook Posts File”:   “My neighbor listens to good music, whether it likes it or not.”

Photo taken February 2013 from the parking structure looking out at Surfer’s Point using my long lens.

A Couple of Things…March 21, 2013

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VenturaRocks.com 4th Anniversary Party

VenturaRocks.com 4th Anniversary Party

(Originally posted on Facebook, March 21, 2013)

1. Spring has sprung.  Life is incredibly good.

2. I love participating in parades, especially in a small town like Ventura.  It’s so corny, you just have to embrace it! The look on the children’s faces makes being goofy so worthwhile.

3. It fascinates me how loud women get when there are more than four at  a table.  I also find that the volume increases exponentially by the number of drinks ordered.

4. I love a good book.  I love a good movie.  I love a good song.  But most of all, I love a good friend.

5. Sydney Rose said the funniest thing the other day when I mentioned that she gets her assertiveness from me.  She totally agreed and then pondered out loud wondering what she got from her dad.  Not missing a beat, we both said at the same time, “Flakiness.”  To which we had a good laugh!

6. I want you to succeed.  How can I help?

7. From my Favorite Facebook Quotes file:  “I’m a non-violent person until I see I see a spider.  Then I turn into Al Capone, and “I want him DEAD!  I want his family DEAD!  I want his house burned to the GROUND!”    Yeah, that’s me.

8. My friend reminded me recently, “In no way are you ever responsible for another’s bad behavior.”  That may be true my dear friend, but we can hold them accountable for it. And more than that, we can shame them and let them know we won’t stand for it.

VenturaRocks.com just celebrated our 4-year anniversary on Sunday.  I selected a few of the photos to share in the montage I posted. I want to  thank my BUSINESS partner Eve for all her hard work. If you get a chance, please read my annual State-of-the-Ventura-Rocks-Website address:

http://venturarocks.com/blog/venturarocks-com-4th-anniversary/

Thanks for reading and for your comments!  I really do love our discussions!!

A Couple of Things…March 11, 2013

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Bob's Big Boy

Bob’s Big Boy

(Originally posted on Facebook March 11, 2013)

1. Spring Break is here! Yippee!! What am I doing?  Working more!!! Nice.

2. I learned this weekend that beets on pizza is not such a good thing.  For starters, in a dimly lit room, they look like pepperoni.  Trust me, they taste nothing like pepperoni.

3. However, I tried Collard Greens for the first time last week, and nom nom nom! Delicious!!

4. I recently had to turn down the advances of a very nice man. Either the chemistry is there or it isn’t.  It’s never ever an easy thing to do, that is unless they’re a complete jerk.  But you know I don’t attract complete jerks.  Oh wait…

5. Book or movie first?  Discuss please.

6. Oh!  I’m learning bandspeak.  When a band says they go on at 9:00 pm, that actually means somewhere between 10 and 10:45.  It’s not an exact science.

7. So, VenturaRocks.com is having its first ever  event.  It’s our 4th anniversary so we’ll be celebrating with a few hundred peeps at Bombay Bar & Grill on St. Patrick’s day with our favorite bad boys The Shoemaker Brothers.  Join us if you can!

8. Living with three women has its advantages.  For instance, I find a lot more reading material around the house, little notes if you will.  Case in point, the other day I found this sticky note:  “Eat Me”  on a container of homemade peanut butter cookies.

9. It looks like  Sydney Rose landed another job. Yep! She’s about to be once again gainfully employeed at a new burger restaurant here in town.

10. I thank my lucky stars I no longer work in a burger joint.

11. Saw a post which stated, “The way people treat you, is a statement about who they are as a human being.  It is not a statement about you.”  author unknown.  True, but not always easy to see.

Photo was taken back when I was working at Bob’s Big Boy on Beach Blvd while I was attending Fullerton College. I was around 21.  We use to turn up the
music, take off our aprons, tie up our shirts and hitch up our skirts, and we became…The Bob-ettes!!!  One way to get your side-work down after a long night of schlepping  burgers. I took the photo on the right…so you don’t get to see my dance moves, which is a good thing.

A Couple of Things…March 4, 2013

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Syd and I at Farmer's Market, LA.

Syd and I at Farmer’s Market, LA.

(Originally posted on Facebook, March 4, 2013)

1. It’s not intuitive for me to withhold my communication.  It’s a blessing and a curse.

2. Looking forward to Spring Break.  Don’t know why.  It’s not like I’m going anywhere, but it will be nice to have those four nights for something other than school.

3.  When I first came to Facebook, I thought 15-20 Friends would be enough.  Now I have 100.  Of course, some of them are just acquaintances, even
one or two are friends of friends but I enjoy their posts.  From time to time I Unfriend a person…for one or two of the following reasons:
a.  We’re already Friends on the VenturaRocks.com Facebook page.  I don’t need to see their post twice.
b.  and, they never comment or Like anything I post.
c.  and/or they never post anything.
d.  They piss me off.

4. VenturaRocks.com 4th year anniversary is on Sunday, March 17. We’ll be celebrating all weekend long!

5. Sydney Rose totally has my back.  This past weekend when she came down to join us at Bombay’s for music and fun, a guy came up and started  hitting on her.  He said, “Why don’t you come hang out with me and get away from your mom.” To which she responded, “Dude, I came down to hang out with my mom!”

6. Staci Brown is thinking of making Syd and I t-shirts, one saying “Team Molly” and the other “Team Sammy”.  Hehehe.  That’s just funny.  Go Team Sammy!!!

7. It’s real easy  to point out all the bad things and decide why things are not going the  way you want them to.  That’s all fine and dandy as long as you’re
rolling up your sleeves and doing something about it.   Otherwise, shut the hell up.

8a. If I die anytime soon, be assured that I have no disappointments other than having never learned to surf.   Hopefully I can check that off my list this year.

8b. I chose the word disappointment instead of regret because one definition of regret implies a feeling of sorrow or remorse for a fault, act, loss, etc.  Case in point, I regret that I couldn’t fix a falling out, or I regret when I ate that last piece of pizza.  Regrets suck.  Let them go.

8c. That being said, I should probably add more items to my list of things I want to accomplish (NOT A BUCKET LIST) such as taking a photography trip to New Zealand, learning to bake bread…

9. One of the funniest posts I’ve seen on the VenturaRocks.com Facebook page was from a fan of our page, he simply wrote, “Apparently Man With the Golden Arm is not a James Bond movie.”

Photo taken last summer at the Original Farmers Market at Third and Fairfax, Los Angeles, CA.

A Couple of Things…February 26, 2013

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Syd Rose at Marina Park this evening

Syd Rose at Marina Park this evening

(Originally posted on Facebook, February 26, 2013)

1. I now have four women under one roof.  My household is overflowing with estrogen.  Funny as shit!

2. I thought I broke my ear last week.  No, seriously!!  My head got caught between a mattress and the railing as we were pushing it up the stairs.  Hurt like a mofo.

3. One of the hardest things I ever did was to overcome my addiction to diet coke.  Aspartame is a bitch.  I had severe withdrawals with headaches, body aches & I couldn’t keep a thought in my head…for months!  It was harder than when I quit smoking!   I’ve been diet coke free coming up on five years!

4. If you’re still drinking Diet Coke, do the research.

5. I have to say, loyalty should never be taken for granted.  It’s more valuable than gold.

6. Heard some great music this week here in Ventura, had a great meeting collaborating with a City employee from Economic Development.  Eve and I need to start thinking on a bigger scale for VenturaRocks.com.

7. Sydney Rose is an amazing designated driver.

8. In spite of all the trials and tribulations, heartbreaks, losses and failures, I can’t help but smile and revel in the knowledge that somehow I’ve been clever enough to surround myself with smart, powerful and supportive friends.

9. The older I get, the more comfortable I am in my skin.  Sometimes I feel like I need to apologize for not wearing makeup all the time, most of the time…hardly ever, but you know what?  What you see is what you get.  As Kat posted not too long ago, a smile is a woman’s best accessory.  Thank God!  (but, whoever
said that was probably a woman).

10. The sun is out early and late enough, the weather is warming up, gas prices are sky high, looks like it’s time to start riding the bike to work again.

11. Speaking of the weather warming up, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, it’s completely unfair how men can just take off their shirts.  Am I the only woman around who blushes at this? It may seem like a complaint, but if the truth be told… 🙂

Took this picture of Sydney earlier this evening at Marina Park. She was a good sport.

A Couple of Things…February 15, 2013

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Central Park 2009

Central Park 2009

(Originally posted on Facebook Feburary 15 2013)

1. Anybody else a little worried about meteors now?

2. Made it through Valentine’s Day unscathed.  Well that’s something.

3. So Sydney Rose is a bona fide driver with a California Driver’s license now. Third time’s the charm! You have no idea how scary it was when she took off on her first solo excursion.

4. My first photo got critiqued in class this week.  My teacher said it was a perfect picture as far as technique went, and then the class proceeded to pick apart the composition.  Live & learn!

5. Acute Bronchitis sucks. I had round two last week, and I was OUT for four days. That never happens!

6. Clipper Nation Baby!  Won my third burrito of the season when the Clips took down the Lakers, yet again.  One more match up before the season’s over.  I’m thinking it will be 4 out of 4.

7. VenturaRocks.com is a legal entity now.  Baby steps…

8. I’ve been reading some posts recently about the music scene in Ventura and I’m reminded yet again that no matter what you want to do, there will be an opposing force.  Even with music?  Some things just don’t make any sense.

9. The photo I posted was from July, 2009, in Central Park. Love New York city.  Need to go back soon!

10. I love my family & friends.  WORD.