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20-Something

Welcome to the Jungle, Graduates!

You’ve graduated. Congratulations!

Now — welcome to the jungle. We’ve got fun and games. Life’s not exactly like Axl Rose’s “Welcome to the Jungle”, but sometimes it kind of is. Sometimes it will make you bleed, sometimes it will bring you to your knees and sometimes you learn to live like an animal. Sometimes you’re forced to feel Axl’s serpentine.

Yeesh, that sounded mighty jaded, but I’m turning 29 this year so I’ve developed that obnoxious, “I know everything about your 20s!”-mentality now. The sort of mentality I like to spew upon younger people whether they like it or not.

Like right now. Here are a few things I’ve learned that might help you, too:

It’s OK if you don’t like your career: There is a good chance that you’ll discover the career you went to school for, you end up despising more than all of MTV’s programming once you try it in the real world. It’s OK if you want to switch careers; it’s not a sign of failure. In fact, most twenty-somethings will change (more…)

May 18, 2012 by
Austin, Film, Music, Pop Culture

Explosions in the Sky’s “Postcards From 1952” Made Weep and Orgasm Simultaneously

Have you guys seen this redonk music video from Austin-based Explosions in the Sky yet?

It will cause you to instantly weep and orgasm at the same time.

The music video was created by the very talented Austin filmmakers Peter Simonite and Annie Gunn. This is the sort of artistic creation that makes you wonder what the hell you’re doing with your life.

 

May 17, 2012 by
Film, Pop Culture

Meeting David Duchovny Reminded Me of What A X-Files Nerd I Was

Last Friday I met David Duchovny.

I have no photographic evidence of this because I met him while he was shooting a scene in his boxer briefs.

There was a lot of hubbub surrounding me meeting David Duchovny from my family and friends. They remembered what a hopeless, pathetic X-files nerd I was between the ages of 10-19. My Dad’s girlfriend, who works on Californication, told me to have my mother ship out any X-files paraphernalia and David would gladly sign them when I met him. My Mom would have happily obliged if I asked her. In fact, she spent most of the week leading up to me meeting David Duchovny telling everyone in our hometown.

As a 28 year-old who previously worked for celebrities, I would never in a million years walk up to David Duchovny with my Australia edition of the Rolling Stone that features he and Gillian Anderson in bed together or my Agent Mulder action figure from Fight the Future and ask him to sign it. That is not a freak flag I want to freely wave to the (more…)

May 16, 2012 by
20-Something, Hipstercrite Life

I Miss LA

Visiting LA was amazing and confusing. I never imagined that I would miss LA, but I do. I think?

This week I visited Los Angeles. It was my first extended trip since I walked away from the city of wandering angels.

I met up with old friends and revisited familiar locations that I abruptly left almost four years ago. Jumping into the past is both energizing and intimidating. Will I feel disconnected from my old friends? Will I want to stay in the past? Will this trip trigger an existential crisis that will leave me curled up in a ball screaming, “Who am I?!?”

The longer I’ve lived away from Los Angeles the more I’ve romanticized it. I conveniently forgot the aimless journey I was taking there, long nights crying myself to sleep or staring at the ocean sky hoping life would finally happen.

I moved to Los Angeles when I was 20 after being offered an assistant position at an actor’s production company. It took me five years to realize that I didn’t want to put someone before me (more…)

May 14, 2012 by
Hipstercrite Life, Pop Culture

Is Venice Beach the Best Part of LA?

Yesterday I spent the day in a place I frequent in my head, except this time I was there in person.

The wonderfully quirky world of Venice, California quickly became my favorite part of Los Angeles once I peeled back the sticky layer of sweat, sand, liquor and God knows what else that covers the town and saw what lies below the surface.

Windward Ave.

Venice has not changed a bit since I left four years ago. The only exception is now there is a medicinal marijuana store everywhere you turn. The employees wear green scrubs with marijuana leaves on them and scream at you, “The doctor is in!” It’s only $40 to get your medical marijuana card.

I even saw many of the same street performers who have been performing tricks on the boardwalk for years.

This street performer jumped onto a pile of broken glass

 

It’s as if Venice has been pickled in time.

I hope it always stays that way.

 

One of my favorite boardwalk homes designed by Frank Gehry

I relived my regular (more…)

May 10, 2012 by
Austin, Pop Culture

The Top Ten Best Taco Tattoos

I have a secret to share: I didn’t try Mexican food until I was in my 20s.

It’s not because I didn’t want to. I’m an adventurous eater and will try anything. I was born in a small town in Upstate New York which, for a long time, was about as ethnically diverse as Yanni concert. I grew up eating the food of first and second generation Italians and Greeks. We didn’t have options like Thai, Indian, Mexican or Ethiopian. My small hometown JUST got their first Mexican restaurant a few years ago and the majority of people who have never left said town are afraid to go in there out of fear that their taste buds will explode from tasting spice for the first time in their lives.

Even when living in Los Angeles, I didn’t eat Mexican food often. Unlike Austin, Mexican food is not as commonly celebrated in LA. It wasn’t on my radar because I was sidetracked by the exorbitant amount of sushi restaurants that city has.

When I moved to Austin, everything changed. As compared to Los Angeles, I (more…)

May 8, 2012 by
Austin, Pop Culture

Are You a Bobo?

In this week’s CultureMap article, “More than Trader Joe’s in store: Seaholm development targets ‘urban bohemians,'” managing partner of Seaholm LLC, John Rosato, used the titular term when describing the sort of clientele they want their future tenants to cater to. A lot of you thought the phrase “urban bohemian” sounded like the verbal equivalent of dragging your nails across a chalkboard, but I have news for you, it ain’t nothing new.

Try on this word for size: Bobo. Bourgeois bohemian. Does that make you want to throw up a little in your mouth, too?

“Bobo” was coined by David Brooks in his 2000 social commentary, Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There. The book describes the rise of upper middle class and their penchant for spending big bucks on organic food, brand new electric cars and all-American clothing.

They are a hybrid of the “liberal idealism of the 1960s and the self-interest of the 1980s” a.k.a. hipsters with money. Bobos are essentially (more…)

May 5, 2012 by
Hipstercrite Life

You Can Take The Girl Out of LA, But You Can’t Take LA Out of the Girl

Next week I’ll be reacquainted with a former flame.

A love that dragged me through the valley of extreme highs and absolute lows.

My relationship with LA is one I’ve romanticized in my writing, my dreams and very somber moments drinking alone. She turned me from a child into an girl; a girl with worn edges and heavy heart.

At some point last year, I realized that girl metamorphosed into an adult. All the hopes and dreams the girl cried for in her loneliness came true.

She loves someone now, and she knows her path career-wise.

I think about the girl often and in random moments I miss her.

I mourn her passing when watching an episode of Girls or hearing a song by M83. My new adult way of thinking tells me I’d never want to be her again, but there is a part of her that still calls to me.

The girl used to lie on Venice Beach at night, staring at the stars wondering when it will all happen for her.

She never thought that day would come, but it’s came, and I’m going to (more…)

May 4, 2012 by
Writing

Long Distance Relationships Are Hard

I decided not to go to Europe.

It was a tough decision to make, but the only affordable option I had was to go next week for a few days capped by 25+ hour travel days. Thinking about that made my head spin. The only reason why I would go is because I want to see Geoff. I miss him terribly. A couple of days in Europe is no way to see Europe. I will get to Europe one day when I have the money and the time and the travel partner.

I was very disappointed in myself for not being more “spontaneous” and just going to Europe, but compounded by my fear of flying, the whole situation was making my anxiety debilitating. As I get older, I’m learning what makes me comfortable and what doesn’t. I’m also learning when I’m just being a big pussy. It’s a hard thing to admit when you’ve always thought of yourself as an adventurous person. Compared to my boyfriend, I’m not adventurous. He will go swim with sharks, climb suicide cliffs and get purposely lost in extreme natural settings. I feel the (more…)

May 2, 2012 by
20-Something, Hipstercrite Life

Is Life About Taking Risks?

Lately my anxieties have prevented me from living the life I want to live.

It took a lot of self-analyzing and begrudged admittance to say this out loud. I have my theories as to why my anxieties have become as bloated as a Pufferfish in the BP oil spill, but I haven’t yet discovered the answer. One step at a time.

This realization/admittance came after I found myself having an exaggerated and unnecessarily negative reaction to minor obstacles affecting my getting to Portugal to see Geoff (he is currently teaching there for three months).

In other words, I went ape shit girl drama cray-cray: crying, throwing garbage cans, drinking Malibu Rum on the couch and taking 3 hour naps to prevent myself from yelling at people on the sidewalk.

You see, sinking ship American Airlines will not release a voucher to us that would help pay for my plane ticket. This has caused me to scramble to find the resources to get to Europe. A few options have become available (another smaller voucher (more…)

April 30, 2012 by