This blog is so 2013.

My uncle rang me up the other day and told me he was reading my blog. I was mostly embarrassed with how much time had passed between the last post and today. Not much happened since then (understatement of the decade).

I completed a Whole 30 and lost a pant size, or so. Whole What? Whole 30. Possibly the best diet, I have ever been on. For me, it was easier (and cheaper) than being a vegan and gluten-free. The stricter the diet, the easier it is for me to follow (like that time I got my gallstones and went on an extremely low-sodium and low-cholesterol diet). If I had gone to boarding school, I would not be wasting my life working in retail today. I am getting ahead of myself. What is Whole 30? It is clean eating: no sugar, no grains, no dairy, no fun. I suppose it is similar to the Paleo diet, but stricter. My Whole 30 meals consisted of sweet potatoes, apple sausage, fish, cauliflower rice, guacamole, steamed asparagus, chicken cutlets, thin steaks, spinach, apples, bananas and a ton of eggs.

Some days were definitely hard. I craved cheeseburgers, nachos, tacos, pizza, pasta, ice cream, cookies, donuts and everything else bad. Then I would look in the mirror and remember why I started this. Well, Lena is mostly to blame. She is more hardcore than me. I never read It Starts With Food because I was too busy bingeing on episodes of Shameless and Arrow (in the absence of quesadillas and grilled cheese sandwiches). There was no cheating during the 30 days. It was totally worth it because my face doesn't look as fat as it did 30 days ago, my skin has not broken out and I have a lot of energy.

After the 30 days (four days ago), I had a bite of red velvet cake - which tasted like chemicals, two bites of a chocolate chip cookie and cheese in my In-N-Out protein style double doubles. Lena and I decided to do another round of the Whole 30, which at this point, is not very difficult. I think I have come to terms with breaking up with cheese. It makes me bloated. I will miss you, brie.

We started going to the gym regularly to do cardio for 30 minutes. If you know me, you know I do not run. I always had a doctor's note excusing me from running the mile in P.E. And my parents like to make a big deal out of my asthma - which I totally grew out of. If I am out of breath, it is because I am out of shape. But I have been running. On the treadmill. For at least 25 minutes. At level 4. Last night, I ran for 20 minutes at 4.3. I could have gone longer, but the gym was closing. So, I took a selfie.


We plan on adding toning exercises during the second Whole 30 session. I feel like I am going to plateau soon with only doing cardio (like how I plateaued with dieting alone). I do not think my back can handle any lifting, so I am not interested in doing crossfit.

Why am I Whole 30-ing? Because I am sick of being fat. I am not getting any younger (although a cashier at the mini mart did not believe that I was over the age of 21). And my boo is younger than me, so I have to work harder at keeping in shape. The initial reason for doing the Whole 30 was to look less chubby at my cousin's summer wedding. But Lena made a beast out of me and I am turning this into a lifestyle change. Plus, I want to be the hottest one at the wedding.

Treat Yo Self 2013

All the ugly fancy stuff at Target went on sale.


Another Lush haul happened. It was from the post holiday BOGO sale. The website even crashed!


I dragged Lena to Chinatown and got a new soap dish.


Got a wikked awesome Christmas package in the mail from WAH and DEE! This is from my olde elementary school where I met DEE in the 4th grade. We hated each other.


Other goodies included:
+ Lumps of coal candy (for Lena, which we ate immediately)
+ "Fear The Beard" Brian Wilson t-shirt
+ Mustache flask
+ BFF poo and tp tote
+ DIANA MINI LOMOGRAPHY CAMERA!

What?! Yes! This was such a thoughtful care package! Lena got a lil' sumthin-sumthin, I have always wanted some kind of tee or sweater from my olde schools, I totally don't own a flask and I needed a new tote. But the camera was a shocker! Thanks, guys!


I got a hot shoe adapter for the Mini Dannii and hooked up the Fritz the Blitz. It looks hilarious, but it works. I have yet to finish a roll. I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out.


In addition to getting the flu, I got another new camera! I have been making eyes at the Fujifilm 210 for a while, but I thought the price tag at Urban Outfitters was too high. So after some web browsing, I saw it on B&H for $30 less.


It came with a clip on macro lens with a mirror for selfies.


I kinda don't know how to use it.

Things I Learned Over Winter Break

    Anxiety (DREAD), is apparent in your cooking. My ribs were a hit, but I knew I messed up the rest of my dishes. Although, I cannot attest to zits in result of bad juju vibes. And that...is a good thing - Martha Stewart. Just try to cook with love. But if you can't be bothered, try to be somewhere remote over the holidays.

    I am related to a canine murderer. Death by dehydration and neglect. You know how most serial killers start off with animals? I'm not saying that I'm related to a potential serial killer (or am I?), but there is a direct correlation between compassion towards animals and compassion towards other human beings by pet owners. It doesn't take a genius to recognize that leaving two small breed dogs in a cold garage tied to a baker's rack is a PRICK MOVE. You can't chalk it up to my parents being worried that these two little dogs will pee and poo everywhere in the condo. Take those pups on a walk and let them do their business. Never mind, I'll take care of it.

    Animals love me because I'm zen. Ask any of the felines and canines at Downton Tabby.

    This year's Crimbo haul includes:

+ Sprocket Rocket with Fritz the Blitz camera
+ Chocolate brown Fred Perry duffle
+ Replacement SuperSampler camera with 3 rolls of 800 film
+ Hello Kitty all purpose clutch
+ Hello Kitty throw blanket
+ Keith Harring "baby" Obey tee
+ Mustache bottle opener keychain
+ 2 pack of Mini Instax film
+ Kewpie-like naked baby phone charm
+ L U S H
+ 2 pairs of Nike trainers
+ Magnetic photo display line

    I scored this light box display thing from work while cleaning out the loft. I don't exactly know what to do with it, but I'm glad to have it. Hoarding in 2013!

    This NYE was spent half asleep on the couch watching a Triple Ds Marathon with Bronchials McGee. Do I have any New Year's Resolutions? Just the same ones as last year: eat better, be active, read more, paint more, save more and go on a proper vacation (I.E. with L). They're not unattainable goals, as I read more than a hand-full of books in 2012 and was vegan for a good 3+ months. I've got my gym shoes and my girl. I'm kicking your arse, 2013! But not too hard because I have a lumbar strain.

Olympus Dukaka

I mentioned a few post ago (no one cares) that I dusted off my Mom's vintage Olympus EE-2. It's a half frame camera, so I was able to get 48 pictures from a roll of 24 exposures. But my local Costco photo lab printed two of the exposures on one 5x7 print.


Anyway, here are a few shots that I am pleased with:


I stood underneath an overgrown willow tree when I took this photo.


This is from an aloe plant on my balcony. My mom likes to massage aloe into her scalp to stimulate hair growth. It has never worked, so she bought a hair piece instead.


I find that I am constantly taking photos in parking lots. How boring.


This shot was taken at a stoplight on Harmon and Audrie. The sunroof was open and I had something like 4 cameras on my lap. I stuck my arms out and pressed the shutter. Lucky shot of the MGM Signature Towers, which by the way, is a classy establishment. Here is the (somewhat) same shot with a different camera, La Sardina:


Dreamy lomography.


This palm tree is in the parking lot of my local Target. I also took a picture of this tree with a different camera, the SuperSampler:

 
This photo reminds me of the zombie apocalypse. Or the world without electricity as depicted in my new favorite guilty pleasure, NBC series Revolution.


This is a tree in front of my local library. I took that photo with the Fritz the Blitz flash (and a blue filter) attached to the Olympus. It looks really funny, the Fritz connected to the Olympus, but I'm happy to have a flash for it. It's the gift that keeps on giving.


Hotshoe!

Pocket Rocket

Merry early Christmas to me! L got me a new Lomography camera: the Sprocket Rocket! It's a panoramic camera. With a 24 exposure roll, I get 11 shots. It's been a hilarious film experiment.


The good people at my local Costco photo lab, God bless their souls, don't really know what to do with my film. I mean, they at least develop it correctly. Printing is a different story. After researching some options over Google and YouTube, I've come up with a process that sort of works.


I lay the film on top of my light box.


Then I take a picture of it with my iPhone and e-mail it to the iPad (I do not trust the iCloud because I am iParanoid).


And then I revert the image using the PS Express and/or PhotoForge2 apps. So I'll probably continue to get my film developed at Costco and have normal prints done. Then flip the rolls from the Sprocket Rocket digitally. DIY in 2013!

November spawned a monster.

Lena and I went to an amazing DIY wedding.

I didn't take a lot of photos. I was distracted by the food, booze and the pain in my feet from wearing heels.
Lena did a really good job making me look like a woman. It ain't easy...or cheap!
We had an anniversary and totally fell off the vegan wagon.
The Giants won the World Series again.
Fixed my olde Polaroid Mio and sacrificed an exposure in the process.

I scanned a lot of photos. This one makes my mom look like a rough-n-tumble motorcycle lady. I won't confirm or deny if she was. Let Erlinda be an enigma.

  

Disneyland is a classic in itself. I think my mom has gone more times than me. That lady in the Pepto colored top is distracting.

  

And so is my dad's mustache.

  If you look closely, there is a crease in the photo from the disapproval of my first interracial relationship. My Auntie Ning used to watch this kid. Apparently he was a crybaby and I would console him. "Jamal, stop being a little bitch." Just kidding, I don't remember his name.
It was All Souls Day and I missed my grandma a lot. I always miss her. The back of the photo translates as "To Grandpa Anoy. Mother and Nicole Entrolezo Espinosa. Nicole is two years old. She's always with me. She calls me 'Mother.'" For the longest time, I did not know that "nanay" meant "mom." Everyone called my grandma nanay, so I went with it. My middle name isn't my mom's maiden name, by the way. I think it might have been my dad's decision.
 

I rediscovered the beauty of my mom's photos. This is New Year's Day in San Francisco some time in the 1970s. My mom said that everyone took advantage of the paper tossing to dump actual garbage.

  

Japantown, San Francisco...which I still have never been to.

  And my mom's first car, a tomato red Toyota Corolla. I vaguely remember it. My mom gave it to my Uncle Rudy (her little brother) when he immigrated to the States. He traded it in for an ugly Nissan and my mom cried. I remember that ugly Nissan. It was a tragedy of the '80s in itself.
Anyway, I was inspired to dust off the olde Olympus Pen. I took pictures with it before. Once when I went to the Planetarium in the 5th grade and my first year at Girl's Camp when I was 14. The pictures turned out pretty crappy. The lens cuts the exposures in half, so I've got twice the shots. More room for mistakes!I repurposed the camera strap from an olde Kodak Trimprint I bought from Deseret Industries for $3 some time ago.
I've been toting all of my cameras since the weather has been milder. I finally got my Lomo Supersampler to work, as well.
I decided to kill and resurrect my olde Flickr account because I am insane. Mostly I just wanted to delete the old photos and start fresh.
And I voted! My dad tried to pull a GOP voter suppression on me be saying "Obama already has Nevada. It's not important for you to vote." I won't call the Department of Justice on him. I can't teach him how to unzip a file from jail. Plus, who's gonna drive me to work? I'm a free-loading, queer, liberal. ¡Obamanos!