music scene

I'm into electronic, electro, indie, house and pop, including:
M83, Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx, Mates of State, Rilo Kiley, Ladytron, Metric, Goldfrapp, Boys Noize, Fear of Tigers, Crystal Castles, The Russian Futurists, The Unicorns, Futurecop!, The Knife, The New Pornographers, Interpol, Digitalism, Deerhoof, The Bloody Beetroots, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Annie, Tiga, Labyrinth Ear, M.I.A., Cansei de Ser Sexy, Architecture in Helsinki, Keane, Feist, Fukkk Offf, Wolf Parade, Siriusmo, The Polish Ambassador, Röyksopp, Blonde Redhead, Bloc Party, Empire of the Sun, Björk, !!!, Girl Talk, The Shins, The Fiery Furnaces, The Cranberries, The Futureheads, No Doubt, The Strokes, Sneaky Sound System, Mylo, Passion Pit, Major Lazer.

Check out my music taste: http://www.last.fm/user/pepacorn

on the job revisions!

how does this (above):








become this (below):


ANSWER: the merchant!

also this is my life now :)

successsssssss

um so yeah i'm employed now.
2nd day on the job.
amazing amazing
livingsocial.com
i design graphics for various markets,
nothing too crazy as of now,
but happily employed
and feeling so fulfilled
FINALLY

practice, revision, and self-assessment

the bad:
unemployed dirty under-utilized scared shaken sore depressed sick exhausted despondent stuck unappreciative negative beaten defeated down obsessive reclusive distorted malformed selfish pig critical traumatized destructive weak

the good:
talented creative intelligent articulate interesting funny open quirky fit caring driven motivated confident deserving upstanding enthusiastic proactive strong responsive mindful renewed

self promo

what else can i use to describe myself
to give myself the best chance possible
to finally snag a decent, creative job?
i've been using combinations of there terms
and nothing seems to stick!!!

birthday pies

fouad is another year older!
and he's got the pie to prove it.
there's a tasty pie place down the street,
and they baked him up a birthday sweet treat.
absolutely delicious!
(can you tell fouad's excited?)


i gave fouad his presents in the container store
equivalent of a mcdonald's happy meal,
but instead of mazes and clown faces
it was just a beautiful teal color.
fouad opened it early just cause.


a few more surprises awaited,
including a coupon, gift card and game.
my mama also got him quirkle cubes.
(quirkle is now a frequently used word in the apt)


i hope he had an amazing day and
i can't wait till next year!

from Aileen Wuornos to Rihanna

stoned with edward norton

go and watch STONE immediately.
oh wait, you can't yet,
unless you buy bootleg DVDs from the flea market.
go watch it as soon as possible, then.
it's really amazing.


what's also amazing is that i got to sit 10 feet
from the very talented and very tired-looking edward norton.
he plays the enlightened convict stone in the film
and is married to the femme fatale milla jovovich,
who screws almost every male character in the movie.
an outstanding performance!


aimee invited me to this early showing and chat with the star,
as part of her AFI membership and benefits package.
also because she's a great friend.
we ate licorice during the milla sex scenes :)

san fran fan

...i really hope blogger doesn't consider this "adult content"
because i really pared down the graphic photos for this post.


the trip to san francisco last week was a blur.
from the culture to the drug use to the people
to the sweaty mass of gays running around at folsom
to the sheer excitement of seeing missed friends
i really had a wonderful and memorable time.


leather daddies and cubs roamed the streets on sunday, sept 25,
looking for hedonism, fulfillment, and perhaps
someone to water their blooming rosebuds.


i caught up with candice and chatted about unemployment.
it's nice to know we're still on the same wavelength about things.
we agreed that folsom was a mere pup in comparison
to our experience at the christopher street day festival in berlin.


digo and katharine rounded out the trip.
can you believe i hadn't seen them in over 14 months?!
we warehouse raved, smoked, SFMOMAed, chatted and ate,
and i really wish we lived closer to one another.


last but certainly not least is anna!
the last 2+ months since germany have seemed a lot longer,
and it was amazing to run through the fields into her arms.
i wish we had more time together, but it was nice nonetheless
to meet her friend cooper and talk about food orgies.

potential job offer!

Hi,
I am interested in working full time at your pumpkin patch.
I am a 25 year old male, able to lift many pumpkins and available to start working immediately.
Please let me know more about this opportunity.

Thanks,
Erich

DC typography

in an attempt to distract myself from unemployment,
i have been biking aimlessly throughout the DC area.


the signs here are pretty interesting -
more interesting than most of the people
to say the least.


there's an interesting back alley full of ethnic stores
that i need to visit soon to find some berbere.
(berbera is used primarily in ethiopian cuisine, btw)


and believe you me i plan on dumping here soon!

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

as candice's omi put it:
"I need a vacation from unemployment"
i couldn't agree more!

i can't even count to how many places i've applied,
and the ones that have responded all seem to
trickle away on the steaming sewer pipe of feces
that has been my job hunt since returning to the US.

i went to SF last weekend with fouad,
to catch up with old and new friends
and to generally forget about the job hunt,
but i often found myself distracted and worried
for the fear of returning to unending unemployment
is both daunting and saddening.

i really, really hope something turns up SOON.

aimless, disappointed, confused

(@ capital one headquarters; hopeful job candidate, eager to work.)

more bad news: i didn't get the senior art director associate
position with capital one.
i had to endure an overextended interview process,
a recruiter who never initiated any contact whatsoever,
and a terrible period of loneliness, self-doubt, and
an ever-draining bank account with no income.


(@ home, alone without job or local friend network, totally devastated)

what to do?
at this point i can't stand the sight of online forms,
am so tired of mass emails for positions that
don't fit my goals whatsoever.
should i settle for lowered expectations,
lowered wages and a lower value of myself?
with this job failure have i accomplished anything
in the past 2 months since being back?
what am i doing here?

caged animals photo series

autonomous consumption

as of now i still have zero income.
but in the words of metric's handshakes:
"buy this car to drive to work,
drive to work to pay for this car,
buy this car to drive to work,
drive to worrrrrrrk"

yes,
i have given in to the idea of buying a car.
this is america. i need that shit to survive.
indecisive as i am, it has been difficult decision.
what's more important? is it style, durability,
reputation, features, cost, color, or
ability to shift into a money making machine?


the chevy cobalt is nice, mainly because
it's the upgraded version of my former car,
which means it will never break down but
each ride feels like sitting in the back of a wagon.


the mitsubishi galant is most likely the safe bet.
my mama has one, and the practicality of these cars
furthers my love for japanese things.
it's relatively expensive though...


now here's a real deal of a set of wheels.
practical! popular! pristine!
pretty purty for a pair of pantsuits,
and to ideally cart me around like a lumberjack.
this expense could prove painful :(

byt = bland yearning tweakers?

despite the cool photos and showy atmosphere
this pool party left me slightly damp and disappointed.
according the BYT.com, or DC's hottest source of
alternative fun for the young, hip and fashionable,
this last summer pool party was supposed to be
a rager of epic proportions at capitol skyline hotel.


a few flake-outs, a trip south and $30 later,
fouad and i entered what seemed to be a contest
for who had the best body and the most drinks in hand.
needless to say, those in attendance,
including the shitbag who sexually assaulted me
my freshman year of college, made matters much worse.
i don't think i'll be going to these types of things
next summer or any time too soon.


see for yourself at http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/
(keep in mind appearances are deceiving)

recent recycling habits

perhaps in stark contrast to my post
about my former host family's garbage,
or maybe because i have recently taken
to photographing things in the kitchen,
here in all my pride and glory is my refuse.

did you know that tecate beer is popular in both
Mexico and California and comes from a CA city of the same name?
it is usually consumed with a lime slice and salt rim.
it's my new beer of choice since most american beers
taste like dog piss. i also love salsa.

Summer Reading List

Books I want to read/reread:
* Albert Camus - The Fall
* Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged
* Bret Easton Ellis - American Psycho
* Chuck Palahniuk - Survivor
* D. H. Lawerence - Sons and Lovers
* F. Scott Fitzgerald - Tender is the Night
* Hunter S. Thompson - The Rum Diary
* John Milton - Paradise Lost
* John Steinbeck - Cannery Row
* John Steinbeck - East of Eden
* Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle
* Kurt Vonnegut - Mother Night
* Milan Kundera - The Unbearable Lightness of Being
* Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451
* Sylvia Plath - The Bell Jar
* Thomas Pynchon - The Crying of Lot 49
* William Faulkner - As I Lay Dying

with this excess amount of free time,
until i am working full time and stressed,
i might as well read as many books as possible
while burning myself out in the sun.

fav TV clip of all time

lentils, lentils, everywhere

here's what i cooked/ate yesterday.
lentil soup can go a far way apparently;
i've used it in wraps with hummus,
fried it up and tricked it out,
and here are my latest creations:


lentil quesadilla:
basically i spread some lentil soup, red onion,
grated cheese and hot sauce on a tortilla,
sandwiched it between another and fried that sucker up!
with a side of sour cream and bbq sauce
and a salad to boot, this one is surely a winner.


lentil soup with egg on top:
fried some eggs, threw some more hot sauce on,
and then ate them together like some delicious lasagna.
this dish is the protein packer, and i'll need it often
considering my reestablished work out routine.
long live lentil soup!