My Christmas List

Last weekend, I attended my husband's holiday party at the boss' house. My husband's boss' kids were the helpers and the 8 yr. old asked if I wanted to see his Christmas List. I said, "sure." The kid showed me his list with about 6 items. Nerf gun, magnetic balls that you can shape, spy camera...etc. I thought "How Cute" and said to him,  "Santa will definitely deliver this year".  Oh, my childhood memories, I have so few and don't remember this Santa thing at all. Well for me, it's not too late. This brings me to this post...If that little boy can have a Christmas list, why can't I? I have a list for everything else. My goals, my errands, my groceries- Why can't I have a christmas list too. I give myself permission to make a list. I know that this is one of those things that will go by the wayside, but whatever, it's out there, so here it is.

 

1. Sony NEX-5

 

Love this camera, I like the compactness and the features of a DSLR.  Also, it is sleek and well designed. I am all about well-designed.
I think I have graduated from the point and shoot- too many trips with mediocre photos, it is time for the upgrade. 

2. Toms Shoes

 

You buy a pair and they give a pair to someone who needs shoes. I hear they are comfortable as well. I am all about getting and giving at the same time.

 

3. Ipad

 

I am waiting for the v.2 but I can't wait till I can ditch my laptop for another portable device.

 

4. Peace 

The days of bickering and fighting makes me sick. I just want everyone to get along. So if I had a pick of anything off of this list, I would pick this. 

 

 

There I did it. All the things I want for Christmas. Yes, they are just things. I have the basics...family, friends, food, shelter and my computer. What more do I need?

Image credit:

1.letsgodigital.org

2.freshpeel.com

3.inc.com

4.myspace

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Death to Hammy

Always sad to see something go- knowing a pet is a life to is hard to take in. Sometimes, I have to remember that the circle of life exists and everything is not forever. Things evolve and changes occur whether you want them or not want them to. Today, is a good reminder of this - RIP "Billy Bob" as my daughter properly named our grey rodent passed away in his sleep. I found him this morning, in a still lump of fur in the corner of his cage. The hamster that I once tweeted bit me. The hamster who was lost in our house for an hour (I had to tear up a room to find him). I admit, I was not fond of this hamster. However, It did teach a lesson to my kids. The lesson of responsibility. Feeding and caring for an animal is not hard but it is that conscious effort of knowing that creature depends on you. Those things are now in the past. I forgive you hamster. The days of cleaning that hamster cage are gone. No more annoying squeaky wheel sounds. The hamster lived his full life. No more torture from my dog who loved him...played with him in his hamster ball, till I needed to separate them (see video). He was approx. 80 human years old (2 real-time years). My daughter is still in school so she still does not know of this event yet. I still remember all the passages of my pets. It happens, I am sure she will remember this day as I will. 

Download now or watch on posterous

VID00165.AVI (13046 KB)

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Giving Thanks

Again, I am up at 3 o'clock in the morning, got a sore throat going on and a lingering headache but thoughts rush in and out of my head. Surfing the web, I see all these Black Friday ads and a story of a person already camping out to get god knows what. Anyways, my thought at this moment is that even though I am not feeling 100%, I am thankful for these things. 

1. Family- Through all of the good and bad times, I am thankful I have immediate and not-so immediate family. It is good to have people around that care for you and that I can care for. 

2. Friends- Again, even though my friends are not my blood, they are like my family. All the people I encounter and become friends with are special and that I am thankful for.

3. My Dogs- I love my dogs, they are funny and do crazy off the wall things. I am fortunate to have the ability to have 3 crazy dogs to call my own.

4. My Health- Again, I can get a headache or a cold now and then but am glad I am able to seek any care that is needed to alleviate any bad things that may happen to me.

5. My thoughts- I am thankful that I am able to express myself through blogging or through the social networks. If there is a bad meal to be had, I am thankful I can express. If there is a good meal to be eaten, I am thankful I can tell people about it. If there is anything I want to share, I am glad there are outlets for me to do so.

6. Shelter, clothing, food etc... - I need to remember that I am thankful that I have these basic necessities for living. I also need to remember to give back to those that need these items. 

 

As Thursday approaches, I am happy to share my Thanks to you for reading my thoughts. What are you thankful for this season?

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Taking a pulse

Social Media has become a big part of my life in the past two plus years. In fact, that is pretty much a big chunk of my everyday life. I am always monitoring what is happening in the world of social media, society, entertainment, and technology all from reading Twitter and Facebook. Keeping up with politics, local happenings, friends and PR Snafus are thrown into the mix as well. All of a sudden Social Media is no longer taking a back seat for businesses. I have seen a handful of workshops, webinars in my radar lately and decided to sit in on an actual in-real life conference full of everyday people, not the tech or the web crowd I am accustomed to. So here is my experience yesterday…

 I went to an all-day seminar where there were many fields of small business. The seminar was a comprehensive overview of social media marketing.  I got to meet a handful of folks; they were accountants, pet walkers, and other small media/ad agencies. I am pretty sure a lot wanted to know how to do B 2 B social media, which is totally different than B 2 C social media. But it was hard for me not to be curious what everyone did. While mingling, I glanced at everyone’s nametag, many of them customers of the hosts of the event. But then I remembered from something I saw on the Tedx SD twitter stream. Don’t ask what you do; ask what you are passionate about.  I took the line and asked a fellow attendee. “What are you passionate about?”  And she said, “Well, I do two things” I work for a designer and but I am passionate about yoga.” Later, I found out she was also a “happiness coach” from her business card that she gave me. I looked at her card and said, “oh you’re a yoga instructor and happiness coach”, and I was intrigued. She knew I was kind of taken back by the presentation from the seminar; in my opinion, the presenter was throwing out everything but the kitchen sink. As someone who is familiar with Social Media, my opinion was while the seminar/workshop provided lots of information; it also provided a lot of inaccuracies. While the buzzwords were thrown out there (conversation, engagement, relationship) and lots of stats, there was no ok…let us start and see the big picture, there was no taking a pulse of the audience (lots of B2Bs rather than B2Cs there). The seminar missed a lot of points on the “social” in social media but instead he taught that social media was another component of marketing. “If you know marketing, you know how to do social media”, was something I recalled. I think that is what left the bad taste in my mouth. Maybe I am biased but it takes skill and passion to use the social media tools out there and to have a virtual conversation.  I held my “finger (tongue)” on my twitter stream much of the time I was there, but I know some things had to be tweeted.  All was not lost. I learned that I knew the Gap / Facebook Places Case Study better than he recalled it.  Also, reaffirmed not to believe everything I hear. PS. Google is a good fact checker. 

 

I did take away from this conference was I was relieved when the designer assistant slash yoga teacher slash happiness coach said that I looked happy. In actuality, I was a bit steamed. Maybe it was an affirmation that I was happy knowing social media wasn’t just marketing. 

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My Viva Elvis Experience

Last Month, I was fortunate to go to Viva Elvis through the BlogWorld/Cirque du Soleil partnership. Viva Elvis is unlike any other Cirque show. All the Cirque shows are all different but I haven’t seen the music of a Rock n Roll star in a Cirque show yet.  This show pays tribute to the King of Rock n Roll in so many ways, my senses were on overload (in a good way). Dancing, singing, jumping, acrobatic moves, a live band and the costuming were excellent. I liked the screaming girls and the video montages playing homage to the King. Many of the numbers were based on his songs and each one had a different tone.

Watching Viva Elvis made me wish I was a teen to appreciate the fan base Elvis had while he was alive, you could truly feel the love for him in the air.  The middle-aged couple next to me was singing along, you could tell they were the real Elvis fans. Yet, the modern day twist to his music made it easy for the younger crowd to appreciate his prowl ness.  If you are ever in Vegas and are looking for a great show to see, I highly recommend Viva Elvis. Tip: sit towards the front of the Theatre and have a chance to grab a really cool Elvis Scarf that falls out of the ceiling at the end of the show. Viva Las Vegas and Viva Elvis.

 

Disclosure: Cirque provided tickets. Thanks Jess Berlin and Jamie Helmick for organizing.

 

Image source: Cirquedusoleil.com

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GAP's Facebook Places Promotion

I wanted to give a lowdown of this promotion since I have already had a couple of inquiries saying What? How?... (This post may be not coherent. It is 4:30 am now and I am half asleep.

GAP recently had a promotion using Facebook Places- the newest LBS to hit the almost saturated market (Foursquare, Gowalla, Whrrl and more).  GAP was giving away 10,000 pairs of jeans last Friday. But when did I find out? Thursday around 4 pm. When did they send the message out? Thursday at 3:32 pm. A few of my thoughts on this. 

1.  Their window was too quick. That was less than 24 hrs. to plan and no time to digest the promotion.  What if I wasn't checking FB that day? I looked at the message and initially thought, "Is that one of those Ipad schemes"? I guess I am skeptical that for FREE is not for real or there is a catch. But this was a legit deal, but not enough time to create Buzz or talk about it. Make the promotion go even further...before not after the fact that this already happened. FREE does help...Jeans are pretty pricey these days.

2. The event heading had no indication of checking into Facebook Places-  it was until I clicked further to find out how.  It was like someone decided that they needed a promotion fast and the day before.... They decided to post on their FB page the message title "GAP Free Jeans Giveaway Today" as an event invite. 

3. I don't think enough people know what FB Places is and how to use. I read a stat that only 28% only have smartphones. What percentage of them actually use FB Places and shop at the GAP? 

4. I read that the employees were not informed of what the GAP was doing. Doesn't look good when you know more than the sales lady about a promotion. I have done this before at Fresh and Easy. I actually walked a worker through their promotion in conjunction with AMEX. I felt good that I talked to them about it but also thought "isn't this the job of the store manager"?  See #1. Not enough time to educate...a. Use of FB Places b. How was this going to work if the lines were long (each store probably only had 10,000 pairs/2,551 US stores=approx 4 pairs each store to give away) c. there was also a 40% promo going on if you weren't able to get your hands on a pair of jeans. 

5. I also read that the customers didn't understand the promo and just showed up to claim their jeans. Not sure if any were turned away because they didn't have a smartphone to check into or if in conjunction with #4, was it a total fail experience?

6. Fast Company's article said it was a success. No jeans left and over 25,000 said they attended on Facebook. They only sampled a few stores in New York City (shopping mecca of the US) and when you say I'm going to attend an event on Facebook, it is just a push of a button. Not really a good measurement of attendence, it just an assumption. 

That said, Facebook places is new and when something is new there is room for improvement and you will always learn from this.  I do see my Facebook Friends slowly adopting the Facebook places feature. Personally, I use Foursquare and hope Foursquare does more like Facebook Places in terms of these types of promotions. 

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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In Case you Find a Dog

Yesterday, I  had a little adventure. I found this little dog and while I was in the process of taking my kids to school. The dog immediately took to me and so I took it in my house to see if there was any id tags. Yes a collar, no id tags. I took a picture and placed an ad on the Lost and Found area of Craigslist, then I drove around asking people walking outside- nobody recognized the pup. I went to the vet to see if it had a microchip- No microchip. All day passed and no phone calls from the listing on Craigslist. So last night, I took more pictures and printed out flyers,  this morning, I put them up at the area school, the local Starbucks and on a few power poles. As soon as I got home I got a phone call and it was the owner. She said she was about to place an ad on Craigslist and saw that I placed a found ad. Not sure why she wouldn't of did this last night or why she didn't look at Craigslist sooner but at least she checked and I don't have to worry anymore. 

The moral of this is, If you own a dog, know to get it microchipped and have an id tag. If this little "Gizmo" had these things then I wouldn't have been a "dog sitter" yesterday. Also, dogs are like children. I am guessing the reason the dog got out was because it is a backyard dog, it was bored plus it was raining. Not a good combination. 

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Pre-Blogworld Preparation

Getting out-of-town is not an easy task for a mom, a lot of pre-preparation has to take place. Luckily, this is the second year in a row that I've got a "hall pass" to Vegas. Blogworld has allowed me to learn, connect and have fun with fellow bloggers and social media enthusiasts. I am thankful for this event because it gives me a good break to be Jennifer and not a mom. This year, I am driving with three friends that have agreed to go on this ride with me (Thanks Richie, Sugar and Liz), I plan to have my cd mixes ready (What are those Vegas songs again?). I hope to check in to the ZZyzx Road on Foursquare and Whrrl because I am a dork like that, but other than that I don't have any expectations for the ride to Vegas (Do I hear In-n-Out for lunch?).

So here are things I need to have done and hope I don't forget to get ready for my road trip tomorrow:

1. Have enough food in the house- Not for me but for my husband and kids. I am not sure when the last time my husband stepped foot in a grocery store. This weekend is Soccer Snack weekend, I had to buy enough oranges, fruit snacks, Gatorades, Rice Krispies treats for 15 people. Also, bought some staples like milk, mac and cheese, throw and the oven and go lasagna and Top Ramen (Bachelor food). 

2. Bring trail mix, snacks, water for me- I tend to forget to eat when I am running around Vegas and I am truly on a budget when it comes to food. So having this stuff stashed in my room and my purse will be handy for those food emergencies. 

3. Packing clothes- Arrgh, I hate packing. Luckily, I am not flying so I can pack hair products. I also tend to pack too light. I have to remember that what you wear in Vegas, you don't necessarily wear in San Diego. I have to find clothes to step it up a notch. This may not happen, but at least I am making a conscious decision to try. Shoes...remember flats are your friends. Heels are the devil. 

4. Hangover drugs- I don't plan to drink a whole lot but the dry air and all the walking may trigger my nasty migraines. I'm bringing extra strength headache medicine.

5. Quarters- for my slot machine fix. It's Vegas- I need to live a little.

6. Get my electronics in order- chargers, laptops, cameras...

7. Business cards- So passe' but I guess they are needed. 

 

I have a feeling Twitter will have a bunch of #BWE10 mentions this weekend. Hope to meet some new people. learn a little and have some fun. See you all to tomorrow Vegas! 

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Ramblings

My thoughts are so all over the place. This probably could be 10 blog posts but I am just going to do it in one.

Dogs and Kids- Love my dogs and kids. My dogs are like my kids but they don't talk, they just paw on you and drive you crazy if they want something. Kids whine and talk to me and often they talk back too. I have 3 dogs, one needs to learn how to go to the bathroom outside. I am slowly going crazy but that's ok. They are my dogs and kids.

Starting school again- this may be unnecessary but there are some things, I cannot learn on my own. I am going for my Digital Media Certificate from SDSU's extension program. It is only a once a week thing but it is important to keep your brain fresh. The series of 5 classes encompasses a couple video classes, SEO, Advance Social Media tools. This will either take me to Christmas or next June (not sure yet).

My travel bug-  I have this travel bug and I should be itching it. It is still there. I want to do my Paris trip...but of course there is this thing called real life. Dogs, Kids, Husband, getting a real job. Next summer, I am slated to go to the big island of Hawaii. This is fine but I still will miss my croissants and macarons. I still have my Rick Steves' Postcards from Europe book to live vicariously through. PS. I am doing San Francisco after Christmas so maybe I can get influences to tide me over.

Music- yay! I went to 2 concerts within a couple of weeks of each other. Phoenix and then Belle and Sebastian. Phoenix, I wish I was closer but it was pretty cool seeing the light show and when you sang in French.  Belle and Sebastian were fun. I mentally prepared to go up to LA and back, but not being in GA was well worth it.

The Social Network movie- Great movie...great score. I am not sure what I think of Mark Zuckerberg. I can say if he didn't take the ball and run with it, someone else would of eventually beat him to it and it wouldn't be his. And maybe now I am tempted to get some business cards to read "I'm CEO, bitch" (just kidding, but that is pretty funny). Startups are hit and misses. The public is fickle, just look at the thoughts of the New Gap Logo (my take, if they left the box and used the current font it would be accepted).

Vegas baby- I am going to Vegas a week from yesterday. I will be in my element for 3 days. This is for the Blogworld conference. I think the main thing is I learn something but it is the connections that are really priceless. I don't usually have many chances for a hall pass.

My examiner.com experiment- I signed on the write for examiner.com to write on the topic of Twitter. I have average once a week. More of an exercise of getting myself out there and getting a taste of writing in the third person. I cannot blog and never was the reporter type. So if you have a chance look me up. http://www.examiner.com/social-media-in-san-diego

Trapeze part 2- Last Jan. (I remember because it was my husband's birthday and I made him watch me). A bunch of San Diego twitters and I did the trapeze class at Circus Fund. It was scary, exhilarating and exciting all-in-one. The feeling was so crazy weird. Anyways, I plan on taking water and this time and mentally planning to have some energy and do part 2. 

A job- I brainstorm everyday on this one. Time management, what do I want to do that makes me happy? Well my job ideas are pretty creative-centric. I am not one to bean count or do mundane work. So my options are still out there. I guess ideally, I want to work in music, travel or art-related things. This will come to me- I can feel it. 

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Little Discoveries

Last Saturday night, I pulled out my wallet out and went on a little shopping binge. Eyeshadow, blush/lipstain kit by Stila ($10), Robot bandaids ($2.99) and a book called HOW TO BE AN EXPLORER OF THE WORLD complete with exploration exercises ($14.95-I will share as I do). I also got an owl necklace ($10), dress ($38), sweater ($9.99) and top ($32). I used to go on these little shopping binges all the time, but not anymore (due to cutbacks in my bank account). It felt pretty good finding all these little treasures. Got my cute fix for a while. Till next time...

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POPCHIPS are everywhere

I went to the Madmen Twineup on Friday. What was in my goodie bag? POPCHIPS. I went to the Threadshow today and girls were walking around with trays around their necks passing out POPCHIPS. I really got a kick out of these POPCHIPS superduper sized beanbag pillows. My friend Cathy even won a years' supply of POPCHIPS. How do they do it?  I think everyone in social media can attest that POPCHIPS are everywhere. 

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An observation on these deal sites

This morning, I curated all my deal buying in the last year-in-a-half. I did this because many of the deals I bought have expiration dates and if you don't use you loose.  I printed about 20 pages of hard copies of these certificates (HP you are making an indirect killing from my ink usage). From Deal-On, Sign-on Deals, Groupon, Buywithme, Restaurant.com. There seems to be an endless supply of deals going on. As a customer, this is wonderful but can get expensive. Everyday there is a new deal, today I am intrigued by the Gondola Ride Groupon offered (but I am resisting temptation).  As a business, they have yet to see if this makes sense, on top of the discount, the Deal site gets half of the coupon cost.  I am curious to see, if these deals actually convert to a loyal customer. I am thinking, in some instances it has, or why would businesses keep on doing this?  As a consumer, I have had great experiences with these deal sites so far. I have a lot of good eats, exercise and activities ahead. I best get crackin' since 2011 is almost here (majority of my purchased deals expired then). Key to avoid over-buying ("raises hand")- Buy something use it immediately, that way you don't forget you have it. So who wants to eat out?

Image credit Tomuse.com

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Unconditional Surrender

Why didn't I know about this statue. It is beautiful. It is located to the left of the USS Midway

 

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Who to Follow today?

According to my Twitter recommendations (located on Twitter). I should be following:

Who to follow

• 
  ×

  TheFunRachel

  Rachel Laing

  Follow

• 
  ×

  foodismyfave

  Janice D.

  Follow

   

  * I rarely go on my Twitter home page because I use Tweetdeck or another API but it is interesting what comes up.

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The Influence Project - 3 weeks later

I wrote something 3 weeks ago on why the Influence Project sucks. I am still seeing these Influence Project links on Twitter and on Facebook and am kind-of taken back by them. Today, I saw that a former co-worker put her link on Twitter.  I clicked on the link and was duped into the notion that she influences me. Yes, I know her- but that isn't a criteria of influence. I really didn't work with her all that closely, I know she is good at what she does but that doesn't make her an influence. I clicked because I was curious. And got pretty upset that it said my vote was counted towards her influence. So why am I writing this? Because I believe that it takes more than a magazine project to determine influence. Even the Klout program has some flaws to their measurement of influence. So what is the definition of Influence? It is is in the dictionary:

1. A power affecting a person, thing, or course of events, especially one that operates without any direct or apparent effort: relaxed under the influence of the music; the influence of television on modern life

So in essence being an influential person is pretty special. It is not just the click of a mouse and a link. I get influenced by something everyday. I read lots of social media books. I suppose the authors influence me in some way (I did buy their book afterall).  I have friends that influence me everyday. Another thing I find funny is that Andy Warhol influences me on his outlook in life and his free thinking. The ironic thing is he's dead. What is your criteria for influence? I hope it is not just a link and click. 

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Life is Genius

So how to get your kid on a box of Life cereal? Simply collect 4 Target circle proofs of purchase and upload a pic of your kid and give them $4.99. Wait 4 to 6 weeks and voilà.- you get a cereal box with your kids pic on it (cereal not included). Why I think this is genius marketing?

1. I want a cereal box of my kid so I can stick it in the garage till my child turns 18, then he/she can look back to see how cute they used to be.

2. I have to shop at Target (the box of cereal will eventually cost me $200 because of all the other crap i'll buy)

3. I have to eventually buy 4 boxes of Life cereal (no problem- that's Breakfast and Dinner for a few weeks).

4. It's fun to see someone you know on a faux product box.

5. Not sure if there is an age limit, so I may have to put my own face on a box. Rinse and Repeat.

Curious to see if anyone else wants to be Mikey too. Let me know.

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Ugh- I'm Average

	Date	Weight	Body fat	BMI	Shoulder	Chest	Stomach	Hip	Thigh	Arm
ME	July	128	29	25	38.5	38.5	33	37.25	22	12

Classification                     Women                    Men
Essential Fat                       10-12%                   2-4%
Athletes                                14-20%                   6-13%
Fitness                                 21-24%                  14-17%
Average                                25-31%                  18-25%

-------------------
I got my fat assessed. Not something you do everyday, but I had the opportunity and I took it. The results- I'm average but just barely. And this is a time, I don't want to be average. I look at the chart above and want to be in the Fitness range. So how am I going to get there? I think it is going to take consistent diet and exercise. I have been taking bootcamp classes on and off now for a month now. I say on and off because it is at least once a week but it really should be 3 times a week. I feel great after each workout and once I get there do the work, but I don't like the fact I have to leave my house to go. I try to be fit and healthy, but it takes lots of motivation. I have to tell you, it is rough. I am a big homebody when it comes to thinking I have to go to the gym or do exercise. Thank goodness, I have had a couple of friends to join in on the FUN and go to bootcamp with me. Lately, my savior is the sweet potato "fries" at Evolution Fast Foods (it is a vegan fast food restaurant), those are my treat after the "hard" work at bootcamp. I am thinking that I may have to develop a exercise and nutrition blog to account for my "wins" and "losses" in my journey to become above average. It is funny that I need to write things out to accomplish these personal tasks of mine. But in order to be consistent, I need to track these things. We'll see to where this leads.

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Confirmed- we have adopted a girl (dog)

We officially have welcomed our new dog Lexi into our family. She came to us from the San Diego County Animal Shelter South. She is a happy dog (approx. over a yr.) with a long tail and is sweet with dominating girl traits. She was fixed yesterday, so she still has the original doggie pound smell and isn't really potty trained yet :(. And we think she was a previous mommy herself (her underside looks like a cow -spots and all).  My two dogs Stewie and Lola are not as thrilled as the rest of my family but they are slowly warming. I am trying to keep the peace and sanity (Stewie, Lola and my own). Her name derived from the doggie bed we bought. "Lex and Lola" brand. I guess I can think of it as a sign. This (dog) is my "gift" to my hubs for his anniversary (I am done having kids and furkids now) plus I was tired of hearing of it. His thought "give another doggie a better life". I can accept this reasoning as the shelters are overcrowded and you should adopt doggies from shelters or rescues (all of my dogs are from one or the other). But of course, another dog leaves no excuse to board them when needed to take my regularly scheduled vacations.  P.S. My gift is my Motorola X coming in a couple of week (which makes me ; ) ). 

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Influence Project = A lot of blog posts about how bad it is

Today, I thought I was going to blog about the dog I am getting today, all the movies I've seen backlogged in my head, or the beach in the middle of downtown on my secretsinsandiego blog. But instead,  I came across a few articles written on the Fast Company experiment called "The Influence Project." The initial idea came from the aforementioned article and the brainchild (?) proposals (First one in the second proposal to be specific. First Proposal and second part of second proposal is just humor). The funny company Mekanism wanted to do something viral (their website is silly). Yes, indeed this project has received some viral attention both good and bad. The concept is great, but execution really poor. In reality, who influences me may not influence you. I can submit myself but I choose not to. First of all, I become a lost portrait. Second of all, someone can be influenced by me and then we can play the Kevin Bacon game (The degrees of influence).  Am I seriously supposed to spam all my friends for support to become a portrait on the cover of Fast Company? I peruse the participants in wall mode and get bombarded by all the pics submitted, over 6,000 so far. I maybe know three or four people, and am easily amused with all the bad photographs and odd submissions (some are avatars, clip art and baseball cards). Seriously, Fast Company what are you thinking? Like a bunch of posts I have read, this is not a popularity contest. I know Fast Company means well but continue to write these articles like the one about Gary Vaynerchuk, It takes more that a four line bio to get to someone to say you influence them. PS. I did recognize my friend @jennyjenjen in this article so at least some good came out of the project (San Diego represent!). And yes, I am adopting a poodle today (That will make 3 furkids for me). Her name is Lexi.

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Finally!

In about 15 days I am going to get a smartphone- I'm very excited and I don't get excited about too many things. I have been using a dumbphone for too long (I dream of drowning my phone just to drown it). The reason I don't have a smartphone yet? Hubs hasn't given in to my pleads and to save money (it is an extra $30 a month). But in reality, it has been a crutch on my social media life. I love to use Foursquare and it does me no good to check-in at home and I can't rely on wi-fi hotspots for the rest of my life. I recently went to Disneyland with my family. My sister has a Motorola Droid and I kept asking her to use her phone so I could check-in on Foursquare, well she finally cut me off. She thought I was a nut. Anyways, my hubs asked me what I wanted for my anniversary (It's Saturday) and diamonds were not the first thing that popped into my head (they actually didn't cross my mind). He said "Droid" and I said yes (ipad was 2nd choice but I am pretty much over that hype). I guess he knows me too well and also was probably tired of giving him sad eyes every time I needed his blackberry for checking twitter. My phone of choice: I am getting the Motorola X which releases on July 15th. The Incredible is backordered till the 29th. So that made my decision pretty simple plus I am not sure if I can wait till January for the iphone for Verizon. Now I have something to look forward to and I can now play with tag readers.

Photo: Techcrunch

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One decade of not being a single lady

One decade. That's 10 years. 10 years of happy, sad, mad, glad, rad, and a few bad moments of my life. They say for better for worse, for richer for poorer. I think we have been through all four of those stages. I met my husband in an alley- we went for a walk and the rest is history. We'll that's his recollection. My recollection or first notice of him is that I met him in a laundry room. I don't think he remembers that I was the one in the laundry room though. I am the polite type and I fold people's laundry in shared laundry quarters, if I need the dryer and they left their clothes in there, I fold them. So here I was folding a strange man's clothes, I was folding everything but his underwear and he walks in and says thanks- yes I did a double take but other than that I didn't think much of it. Funny thing is,  I am still folding his laundry to this day including his underwear. They say don't give up and this is one of the things I haven't given up on, yes I admit there were times of strain but we have worked on our differences. I have given up on lots of things but love isn't one of them. So thankful, that he hasn't given up on me either. 2 kids and 10 years later, we are still together through our good and bad.

Fast forward to Saturday, July 3, 2010- I finally got through to the W San Diego and we will have a mini one-night staycation. Hope to enjoy a few great downtown moments to add to my "for better" part of my life with him. I love you Ed.

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I thought my dog was big

The St. Germain's Cafe Dog is huge (mine is the white dog on the left). Last Saturday, I went to my first "Yappy Hour" at St. Germain's Cafe.  Live Music, dogs and friends, it was a great way to spend my Saturday evening. This cafe is right on S. Highway 101 a few blocks away from the beach in Encinitas. St. Germain's Cafe hosts Yappy Hour every Fri. & Sat. from 4pm - 7 pm through the end of July. The food is excellent and a percentage of food/beverage during these times go to the Rancho Coastal Humane Society.  What a nice way to give back to the community and enjoy some quality time with your pooch. For more info. go to San Diego Bargain Mama's Site.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Summer Fun with the kids

This is the last week of school for both of my kids ages 8 (g) and 12(b). Today, I asked my 12 yr. old son what he wanted to do this summer. His response "Sleep-in and do nothing." This is not the response I was looking for. So what do you do with two kids all summer? One that doesn't want to do a thing and the other that loves to do things as long as they are kid-like and fun. "No museums", they both plead with me. Last year, we took advantage of the Free Tuesdays at Balboa Park. For Locals and Military there are selected museums that are free that particular Tuesday. So every week, I took them to Balboa Park. Yes, I plan to do this again this summer but I will tone it down a little. Maybe one museum each Tuesday will be a happy medium for all of us. I certainly don't want them plopped in front of the tv all summer and I do want to take advantage of the lovely beach we have here in San Diego. This will be the summer that they remember. Doing things and capturing the memories. Now why did I think of going to work full-time again? Oh yeah, I remember, but that can wait till September. I'm a mom now,  I am someone who does what is the best for the kids, I think they will thank me for that later. 

Caption: Spongebob Squarepants (one of the cartoons that will slowly kill my brain cells this summer)

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Pen to Paper

I haven't been writing. It is that damn writers block. Lots has been going on with me mainly personal. Maybe that is what is holding me back? I really need to be honest with myself and get out of my shell. My friend gave me an idea to do a to-do list. Well this is a start. I think I have a bucket list started in my drafts somewhere (I am sure that will be a good publish). Maybe I should have this list to get my wheels in motion, so here it goes: 

1. I guess the number one thing on this list is to get a jobby, job, job. I am assuming that I should get a real job with benefits and all the adult things that you should have like retirement and vacation (will make hubs happy). Or my other option is to invent something fantastic, get funded and live a happy life. Goal: 6 months

2. With #1 goes my work life/balance. Who am I kidding? I need to work but I need to also want to watch them do kid things. Also, call my parents (not good at that). Once they turn 17 or 18, i won't get to experience that anymore. I admire companies who realize this is important, so I am hoping that I can find or invent this to fit with #1. Goal: Now

3. Balance my home life/ go out life. Sadly, this doesn't match up. But I think am doing a good job in keeping this balanced so far. I do need to go out and do things with the children/hubs more, but they are homebodies. Since summer is coming, I guess I should initiate the beach, zoo, outside activities with them.  I love going out and meeting with my friends but I think I need to incorporate family/friends a little bit more better. I recently joined a bootcamp that works my arse off, but I would not be motivated to go if it were not for my friends who push me forward. I have a gym membership but of course, I need to be motivated in this area of my life. So far so good. Goal: Now

4, Travel more- I think this aligns with #1, 2 and 3. I think I need another European Vacation. I also need a NYC Broadway fix. Paris/Coastal regions/Champagne, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Italy. New York to see Pee-wee on Broadway. These are the fun goals in my life. Goal: 1 year

5. Give- I say I want to do this but maybe I need to push. I need to volunteer somewhere- one or two hrs. a week. Give something back to the community. I would love to help the homeless community or the senior population. I guess on my to-do list is to research and sign-up. Goal: 1-2 months

6. Learn more- I really want to go back-to-school to see what I am good at- I did this with Marketing via New Media (I love SM). I want to take art classes so I can put brush to canvas and take french lessons again. All of this is related to #1. Time and Money.  Goal: 6 months

7. Blog more- This goes to the whole reason for this post. Pen to Paper. Fingers to Keyboard, Brush to Canvas...Produce and do something. I guess my goal is one post a week. My Secret San Diego posts need to be bi-monthly at least. Posterous- once a week or so. I should also do some business-related posts. 

8. Finish books I read- right now I am reading the Warhol Diaries, Open Leadership, Eat Pray Love...all at the same time. I love to start books but never finish them. Maybe it has something to do with finality. When it ends that's it. It could be an ADD problem. I am not sure. Goal: Eat Pray Love before Movie comes out...Open Leadership= 2 months, Warhol Diaries - 1 yr. (this is a 900+ pg. book). 

9. That is all for now. Hope you enjoyed my list. Let me know if you want to do #4, #5, #6 or if you have a wonderful lead for #1. I would love to hear from ya. 

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My first augmented reality experience

I got the latest issue of Wired Magazine yesterday in the mail. My first reaction was "this is cool"- the cover has Buzz and Woody from Toy Story. I was excited that this was an issue with some interesting topics...Geek Gardening, The Mechanics of Ice Hotels, Zombies, Cheetos etc... But do you know what the icing on the cake was? An augmented reality experience. Yep, an augmented reality ad from Olympus. A flimsy die-cut of a camera with some instructions to go to a website. Seems easy enough. It was, until I had to install DFusion on my computer. This is an unknown plug-in to me and if wasn't so curious, I probably wouldn't have downloaded it but I did. It took about 5 minutes or so for me to get situated with the plug-in installation. After that was done, I still had restart the website so it would detect I had the plug-in installed then I had to make sure it was able to access my webcam (needed for the diecut camera to work). This is a lot of work for an experience. But I was ready. I got my die-cut camera and put it in front of the webcam. It took a little bit of set up but I can honestly say it was a very cool experience. The die cut camera turned into a real camera on the screen and I was soon clicking (using my mouse) on the features and even taking "fake" pictures and video- I even got to pop off the lens. I don't know how much the ad cost Olympus but I would be curious to see how many people actually will go through the trouble to download the plug-in and experience this augmented reality Olympus camera. I don't think this would take place of actually having the camera in my hands but in the way of technology, this is a good start. You can experience this by going to getolympus.com/PEN3d and print out and cut out the pdf of the camera on file or you can go and buy the June issue of Wired. I would love to hear about your first augmented reality experience. 

Note: The pictures were taken by my "real" digital camera, they are not screenshots.

picture 1 and 2- diecut
picture 3- view of augmented back
picture 4-augmented picture of me holding the back of the camera
picture 5- augmented view of the lens
picture 6- another view of camera
picture 7- I popped off the lens
picture 8- lens back on
picture 9- view of back
picture 10-I am holding the camera up, but in reality I am holding up picture 1 and 2

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Mottos and How they Can Fit into Real Life

Love your work-Work your Love and repeat... This is a little notebook I picked up at an Holiday Matinee event not too long ago. I have to see things like this to remind me of who I am. Yesterday, I had a job interview as an assistant. Though I didn't actually meet the people I would be assisting for. My thoughts after the interview:  Oh, it would be great to have a job, why? Because it helps pay the bills- but as of right now that would be it. Be a corporate citizen, get a real job. But in actuality, I need to remember "Love your work-Work your Love and repeat...unfortunately, this job had no love (not for me at least). It dawns on me (actually I know) that working in a corporate is not for me. I work hard and I get things done, but the corporate structure, look and feel suffocates the hell out of me. Will I get this job? Not sure, I do have an in- and more interviews ahead, but no guarantees of getting hired as of yet. Because of this interview,  I have a devil and angel on either side of my shoulders. Angel says "It's a great "corporate" company with many corporate benefits. It is only 9 hours a day of my life and it pays well, plus you will have that secure job." The other side of me says "don't compromise who your are as a person. Be free, do things you love to do. IT will all come together, in time. Enjoy your family while they are young and reap the rewards of the simple things in life." Actually, I am not sure what side is the Angel or the Devil. But I think I answered my own question by writing this out. (Disclosure: My husband works and we are ok financially on his one income, but he would like to retire one day, therefore my quest in finding a job). 

So what are my loves right now? I am loving getting out there and finding cool things in San Diego...I started a blog last July. Secretsandiego.wordpress.com. I recently changed the name and URL to secretsinsandiego.com (more professional). The reason I started this blog is because there are so many things to do in San Diego and every place has its own uniqueness. I don't think I have even scratched the surface of it all. Another thing I love to do is social media. I believe creating/maintaining relationships and content creation is the key to keeping customers and gaining the new ones. As a business, listening to your audience and maintaining your brand is important- social media is a perfect medium for doing this. I love the term "Word of Mouth on Steroids" for social media, I just hope doesn't become an overdone term like engage and interact (which are important but are overused terms, I hear a lot).  Other things I enjoy are traveling, movies, music, reading, learning about art, design/aesthetics, the journalistic style of photography, french art and culture...I just don't know how to incorporate those things into a paying gig. These are just my thoughts of the moment. If anyone is out there and has any suggestions, let me know. I would love to hear from you. 

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Sitting on the Sidelines

So I have been sitting on the sidelines about this Facebook Privacy debate/discussion- whatever you want to call it. Articles upon articles have been written about Zuckerberg- all the pet projects that led him up to his creation of this massive network of a social site called Facebook. Here is my brief thoughts before I go to my 10:30am personal training session.

 

 

1. Facebook is what you put on it. If I put something on the interwebs- I expect if someone really wanted to find it, they could. I could be private but that would mean I have to stay off the internet. I use the FB privacy controls but I don’t expect that to stop someone to finding more about me. I think there are sites like wink, peoplefinder etc… that can find my city, state, how many places I’ve lived, age etc… 

 

2. I use Facebook as a communication tool for my friends and family. I don’t have plans to take my page down or boycott Facebook. But as with myspace…I go where the rest of my fish are.  There is a big chance that in the next year, a better social network with come out and overtake FB social presence. I was a huge myspace user until FB, came along, I even had a blog post on this:

 

Tuesday, October 30, 2007 

this facebook thing and other stuff

I think it is easier to keep this myspace account, it is too hard to start over again.  It does the same stuff,  I guess you can easily add stuff from companies if you want to but I am too lazy to create a new profile, etc... also, trying to have my friends list transferred is hard no one has a facebook acct.  Anyways, I am ranting at 5 am.  Reprise in April 08: I take that back, with different applications available, facebook is more self interactive and you can interact with your friends as well.  I do have a current facebook acct.  which do I use most?  I have a fair share of both facebook and myspace…

 

So I am saying it could happen, I could move my social network over to xyz.

3. Facebook is a business. They have to generate income and all of that other stuff that businesses have to do to make money. If they decide to change their pages every 3 or so months and make it difficult for people to adapt, they will lose users. Is Facebook gambling on their fate- My thoughts YES. There are lots of thought leaders out there that are boycotting FB and upstarts that are out there vying to become the next “myspace”, “facebook”, “twitter”, “google” etc… But in all honesty, FB has a good interface and it still is a huge community. But then again, I said this about Myspace three years ago.

 

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Cracking the Whip

Starting tomorrow, I am cracking the whip on myself. Really...I am. It is almost summer and I guess that means hanging by a pool or the beach that I never go to (I live a whopping 20 minutes away). I've decided to start going to Optimum Condition in El Cajon to get a body evaluation and training program. Using a certified personal trainer is necessary for me to get motivated and to make sure I am doing the right amount of diet and exercise to obtain my summer goals. In addition to a personal trainer, my family got me (Mother's Day request) a little gadget called the a Nike sensor for my Itouch Nike+Ipod application. The sensor fits goes in or on your running shoe to keep track of your distance/pace, set goals and to let you know how many calories you burned. I chose to make my own sensor holder by cutting a insert in the tongue of the shoe and then after inserting my sensor I stitched it back up.  With my Nike+ I can set workouts based on time, distance and calorie goals. For example, if I wanted to run for 20 minutes, I tell the app and it would count down for me the time and a computer voice would periodically let me know how much time I have left (it actually does this while your listening to your music). After the workout, the app has a history section, where I can go back and view my previous workouts. I am pretty visual and goal-oriented, so this tool may just be the trick to get me out there on a regular basis. I tested it out this morning with a 10-min run on the treadmill right before my Sunday morning yoga class. Wish me luck and goodbye Haagen Dazs - Dulce de Leche, I'll miss you. 

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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The Vicious Cycle

This is a relationship post. I don't normally post feelings that pertain to my "personal" personal life, but this is my venue without having to feel I need to censor myself. So this post is about my vicious cycle. My vicious cycle is my marriage. I love my husband dearly- but at the same time I feel I cannot keep up to his expectations. We will see what happens after this last talk, but really this is like the three strikes rule and I am almost to the point where that is it. Maybe, it is me. I just can't be myself around him, I feel I walk on eggshells, and he isn't the person that I used to adore anymore. Mind you my head is fresh off of the argument and my face still hurts from crying like a mo-fo. I kept a blog post from 2004 in my notebook portion of my yahoo acct. and this is what it said- "I am afraid of what Ed came hom e soon after, he always is foul when he gets home. I am always afraid he will blow up like he did last night. I think its the afraid pat. I don't know how to be. I try so hard to keep the home maintained and find my balance, last night It simply wasn't good enough . Aways, try harder but w/ no avail. What do I do next?Pls. tell me." (writing angry that day?-why yes) Fast forward 6 years. Same situation. When will this vicious cycle end. Will it be when I say I can't take it anymore. Some days this is true. But I don't see myself without him. I guess I am not ready to throw in the towel yet and he hasn't either. Though yesterday, I had moments of doubt but I am a fighter and I will fight for the big things that matter to me. I guess this is one of them. Suck it up, Jen...Suck it up.

Props to SAHM/Ds of this World

Yesterday, I volunteered to babysit a friend's two-year old daughter. My friend was starting a new job as a cocktail waitress and she had been a Stay-At-Home-Mom (SAHM) for the entire time she had her daughter (call her S), so she asked me if I could watch S at the last minute. I, of course said "yes" but then I quickly remembered I hadn't watched anyone else's toddler-aged kid since I was 12-14 (my babysitting years). I had S for a whole 8 hours- which might be cake for some but not for me. Yes- I do have two kids of my own but I never really knew the true meaning of SAHM status. I always had either the daycare, preschool or a relative watching my kids while I went to work (work meant mental break). Anyways, it was hard work watching S. I had to make sure she didn't get into dog dishes, break something, or eat something she wasn't supposed to. She didn't let the TV be her babysitter, she wanted to color, walk around and throw not roll balls around (around my breakables- good thing onyx chess sets don't break).  Plus, I had change her "pull-up" every so often (not potty trained). I forgot about the "pull-up"/diaper part of life.  I got paranoid by this because I was afraid I was going to have to change a #2 (whew, this didn't happen). By the end of my "Shift", I was ready to give S back. S didn't cry while I had her (what a relief), but when i did give her back her tantrum side went off (sign of being tired). At the end, I was tired (I wanted a nap so bad) and I mentally was exhausted because I had watched the every move of a two-year old.  I truly had forgotten what it was like to have a toddler-aged kid. Props to the SAHM/D who don't get breaks in their lives. I love kids, but watching them - oh so not my forte.

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NYC bathroom in Lego's

NYC bathroom in Lego's
Originally uploaded by TouchedByAnAtheist

This is the only bathroom in Miniland at Legoland California that is built in the whole entire area.

Remembering

So today is April 8th, 2010. I sometimes forget that I change, that people change, that I may be moody or sad or happy or flirty or angry. I tend to blame this on the foods I eat. I will feel gross if I eat too much sugar or fat and feel great if I eat healthy things. Same with what I drink. Me and alcohol = love/hate relationship. I like alcohol but it doesn't love me. I can get moody or happy, I tend to talk a lot, be gushy, be honest, sometimes regrettably too honest. My cutting point is probably half a glass cause one or more drinks and my thoughts go out the window (so if you are with me only one glass please). Lately, I been forgetting to be nice and smile. I want to go into the dark hole and hide and that has been the dark hole I been trying to dig out of for years. I like to think I have progressed but some things make me want to regress and I fight it. Really, I don't want to lose but some actions tend to beat me up and I want to wonder why I did what I did. I have learned from other people which has taught me to hold on to what I have. Be thankful for your family, your true friends, your neighbors and the encounters that decide that your life is better than what you think it is.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 2008

Generally Speaking
I truly am blessed with my family, my friends, my job, my dog and other pets that are with me in present time. Sometimes it takes external forces to help me realize that I need to be proud of my accomplishments and what I have created as a whole. I also need to stay focused on being a positive human being. Whether that means I let people change lanes on the freeway in front of my car in traffic, smiling at someone at the supermarket when you know the other person is not having the greatest of days, or just plain on being a nice, polite person. This reminder of what is a growing process of myself, a current metamorphosis as you will, checks myself into reality from time to time. I can no longer be angry at the world and it's doings. It is what it is and it is up to me to help change at least my surroundings. So with this general mantra, I will try to be better at who I am and what I do...starting today.

My Myspace revisited

It has been a LONG while since I visited my Myspace Account. My page is like a black hole with memories till 2008. I even had a myspace blog post from 2007 saying I liked myspace better than Facebook, then I changed my mind in 2008. I recently logged in and found that it is mostly music-oriented, lots of game apps, flashing ads and entertainment centered. I do still have a few friends on there (mostly silly friends like Pickle, Gummy Bear and Nabaztag) but I looked around and about 5 or so of my friends still update their page. Anyways, it is pretty funny reading my profile back (see below). Slight things have changed like I no longer take french lessons, my tv shows have changed and my occupation is no longer what it is but overall my likes and views are the same. Do you still have a myspace account? 

About me:

Marriage is love.

(there should be a rainbow flag here)

..

..  I eat sleep work play and do it all over again. Let's see, I like to sleep. I work in recruitment advertising. I play with my kids and my friends. I like to go to Vegas at least once a yr. to watch a show or two. I am not much of a mall shopper, it makes me cringe. I hate waiting in line. Have to have my daily white mocha from SB. I am all about good karma. ------------- New as of June07: still sleepless, everything else is the same. I think I am a craft addict. I've got cool crap that is taking over my messy office. In 2007, I would like to: Go on a relaxing vacation!!!! 
win the lottery- the big one not the ten dollar wins 
go to the gym at least twice a week 
cook more in... eat out less 
work more efficiently and stop stressing 
recycle my bottles and cans- all of them not some of them 
sleep through the night....

• General

  My french lessons (terrible but still hangin in there), traveling, dreaming, tord Boontje, modernistic design, design in general, Aesthetically pleasing things. Sleep, Good Restaurants Staying in touch with family and friends and making sure no one gets in trouble.

• Music

  All sorts...I can listen to music all day. Artists forever: Madonna, Prince, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Zero 7, Carla Bruni, The Racounteurs, The White Stripes, U2 I have seen in concert: (Will see if I can remember- 1st concert(16yrs. old) to present- some out of order) Lynard Skynard, Aerosmith, Bridge Benefit (Neil Young, Pearl Jam, Tom Petty etc.., some thing in Hawaii (porno for pyros, the bee group whose lead singer died, Lalapalooza 93?, No Doubt before they hit it big, - Smashing Pumpkins, beastie boys, etc.., Smashing Pumpkins again in a much smaller venue in SD*, Bjork*, Chris Issak*, No Doubt and Bush (before Gwen and Gavin got married), Mazzy Star, Noisepie, Frente, Tori Amos (x3or 4 times), Susanna Hoffs, private birthday party with Kool and the Gang, Street Scene w/ Cake, Incredible Moses Leroy (x2) and Counting Crows, 

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