Willo O'Brien

Perfect sleepy Sunday activity: Sitting in bed with my laptop, sorting, uploading and naming photos from the last two weeks! Check em out!

Starting at the oldest first, it dates way back to a Noisepop show:

3/30: The National @ the Independent

Misty, Ryan, Mat & I @ the National show

View Photo Album from the National show

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3/31: We Are Scientists @ the Independent

My buddy Chris & I @ We Are Scientists

View Photo Album from the We Are Scientists show

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April 1st was a busy day! I had lunch w/ the Weingals, then picked up Ali to head over to the east bay for Gabe’s SonicLiving focus group, then raced to the Noise Pop & Shop event, then had dinner w/ Ryan & Ali @ Axum Cafe (Ethiopian – yumm!), then headed to Jem’s bday party and THEN went to the Hijack the Disco Noisepop show @ the Rickshaw! Here’s a few photos from all the fun:

This is cutie Marissa & I making silly faces for her little brother Zach, the photo taking machine

View all photos from my lunch w/ the Weingals

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Ali & I taking a silly shot on 6th St. after hitting the Noise Pop & Shop event

beautiful birthday girl Jem @ her awesome house-show lineup on the wall

Ryan, Ali & I’s floor shot @ the Rickshaw Stop

View the photos of Ali, Ryan & I @ Jems & the Rickshaw

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And lastly I’ve created an album with bunch of various April photos. Here’s a few of em:

Darren & I @ the APE Expo!

my precious baby kitty, kazoobie, sitting in his favorite spot

On my way home from my awesome date last Saturday night, I got a dodgeball that Dennis had checked in at Cama. I’d never been there, but the address of the place was right on my way home, so I did the “if there’s a parking spot” roll of the dice (which obviously there was), and went & surprised him!

I was celebrating my great date, and turns out he was there with Dana & Julia (of GeekRules.com!) celebrating her bday! yay! Happy Birthday, Dana!

I don’t get to see Dennis often, as we’re pretty big time internet/IM buddies, so it was good to see him, and Justine even showed up before I left, too. I was glad I stopped by.

Dodgeball actually came in handy for me twice that night! While my date & I were dining @ Sauce (delicious!), Buzz & Cameron checked in a the Rickshaw right around the corner. I had *just* been thinking about having us go there or to Place Pigale, but was wishing I knew who was playing and/or the cover @ the Rickshaw… and wala! I texted Buzz, he said Ming & Ping – which made me remember I’d seen a flyer for the Ming & Ping/Goldchains show – and so the decision was made! Technology is rad. Sign up on Dodgeball if you haven’t already!

p.s. Get well soon, Dennis! (he broke his ankle the very next day – sad!)

What a GREAT day!!! To start, my workout this morning was f*in FANTASTIC! Although it’s entirely possible that it has everything to do with the fact that it’s a beautiful sunny day, I have had workouts like this before & I live for them!!! Where my endorphins absolutely shoot through the roof and I walk out of the gym covered in sweat with a big smile on my face, like I just had the best sex of my life. HELL YES!

Today I did my (standard) cardio for 45 minutes on my favorite elliptical machine (yes, I have a favorite… type, that is. there are different models of elliptical there, and of this one there are only a precious six!), and read my book of the moment: Stylin’ w/ CSS. I felt so great sweating my ass off, feeling so strong, and I am to a part in the book where I’m finally learning some really AWESOME core CSS info that will help me kick the tables habit!! wahoooo! I was feeling really inspired and had a ton of ideas flowing.

So I’m all geekin out, feeling great – literally at one time wanting to do the toyota fist into the air with a big YES! – and I get to this paragraph in the book that starts out, totally nonchalantly, “Now is the winter of our ‹div content›.” HA!!! As my friend Dan said when I told him, “that’s 3 kinds of geek!” Ya, I actually laughed out loud on the machine, it was just placed in there so casually. But besides that line being a Shakespeare line, a book by Steinbeck or in the Van Morrison song, it made me think it’s in some Bright Eyes or Deathcab song somewhere. I couldn’t find it via google, but do any of you know where or what song I might be thinking of? I might be crazy, it just was something I thought was more familiar to me because of some indie song. hahaa… but it’s probably just all too Conor Oberst to not assume he threw it in a song, right? :p

OK, so today’s a great day. Great workout, great shower, great scramble, great post! And CUT! Time for coffee & to do some work. byeeee!

but man are they good. especially these cashews. mmmm.

pretty girls make graves have a new one – woohooo!!

i got the new islands album and i’m stoked. i also got several other things, and i’m really enjoying: celebration, the pale pacific and the roger sisters!

my mail program is freaking out.

i had jury duty today. and it’s still raining. jury duty + rain = SUCKS.

tonite ali & i went to see jamie lidell. a guy we met there admitted he listens to jam bands. it was all we could do to not crack up. hi, we’re indie snobs. sorry, it might not be pretty, but it’s true. god help me but i can’t relate to people whose musical interest doesn’t expand much farther than widespread panic, rusted root, or phish. hech hemm… if you’re reading this, sorry… don’t be offended, we’re just into different sounds dood.

jamie lidell isn’t totally my bag either, as he got into “the beats” a little more than I am into – but I DIG his soul/r&b otis redding thing he’s got goin on, and the sampling was sweeeeet!! he’s charismatic and has a beautiful voice. ali & i agreed it was probably the least amt of instruments we’ve ever seen on the gamh stage. oh, i take that back – the suicide girls show didn’t have any. just skin, baby. aww yaaa. hahhaa.

ok, moving on… did i already say my mail program is freaking out? grrr. it’s better than before, but it’s having serious issues tonight.

after jamie lidell tonite i went grocery shopping. i have a confession to make: i think i’m addicted to grocery shopping. i’ll probably end up like my grandma. continuing to go grocery shopping until there were no more room in her cabinets and she had to stack things on the counters. (this is a true story. but i mean reaaally, you can never have too many crackers in case company comes over!)

ok, i’m not that bad, but with my consuming so many fresh veggies all the time i find myself at the grocery store more often and i don’t know… i just feel like this year i’ve been grocery shopping a helluva lot more than i ever have in my life. i mean, i like it! maybe that’s why i’m concerned. haha. i just happen to spend $100-$150 every time i go. THAT’S why i think i’m concerned. but hey, at least i’m eating super healthy! well, except the over indulging on fatty nuts. that’s probably not so good. :)

oh, and grocery shopping around midnight is the best.

what else can i blab to you about? i feel like i’ve been a bad blogger lately. i’m trying to type this whole post in lowercase… which i don’t usually do. i end up capitalizing one ‘i’ and then i get all ‘well they should all be capitalized!’ and the whole lowercase idea goes down the drain. this time i’m sticking to it!

no, i’m not drunk. but i did have a cup of coffee around 9, and so i’m feeling rather awake. plus i’m high on grocery shopping and fatty cashews. i’m sooo outta control! and on a wednesday night! :p

ok, my killing some time here has not helped the stupid mail situation, so i’ll have to just shut down & deal w/ it tomorrow.

i’m sure i have more to tell you. like: i’m a week behind on posting my photos! weird! possibly unprecidented! what’s the matter with me?

oh and guess what? the SD500 (camera) is officially not taking flash photos. meaning it’s officially going to have to go to elph heaven soon, as i can’t imagine it’d be worth fixing… but i suppose i could look into it. anyway, what’s a girl to do w/o the ability to snap a zillion photos? not sure… but i’m feeling a little handicap, i gotta say. what’s tough is i don’t feel like i have the extra dough to spend on that pretty new one i want. taxes bent me over this year pretty big time. it’s pretty sad the thought of that turned me on. ha.

no, i’m not drunk.

ok, going to bed now. :)

Things that suck:
– this sucks
– slow internet (will it ever be fast enough for me? :)
– forgetting to grab my ATM card after getting cash on Saturday. Consequently I now have to order a new one, but the worst part is having to change all my subscriptions & such to the new card. I also had the old one memorized, which was convenient! (probably all too convenient :p)
– rain that won’t quit. this has caused our basement to be really wet because bernal hill is simply SOAKED and therefore the ground cannot absorb anymore and it comes up through the floor. our dehumidifier down there is working overtime!
– taxes

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Things that don’t suck:
– All the incredible and inspiring talent @ A.P.E., and getting to spend the day with my awesome friend Darren. He’s the best APE buddy ever… we totally can go at eachother’s same pace the whole day. yay! It was SO good to see him, too, cuz it’d been awhile!
– this kickass write-up on birdmonster, where they also mention Bagel Radio Ted, who has been awesome help for them getting big. We love them!
– hot dates that leave you wanting more :)
– finishing up a project i’ve worked so long & hard on! i’m really enjoying my work these days and thankfully am doing a great job at balancing my eating & working out so I can be uberproductive & stay sane at the same time!
– new one added, thanks to glen: this is funny

Indie Rock Willo
Originally uploaded by ldandersen.

life is a time suck! i can’t even go into it, but let’s just say i’m feeling a little frustrated with ‘time’ lately. i don’t like that it takes hours here & there to take care of all the tedious little tasks being a human requires. can’t you see that gets in the way from me working & finishing projects and then starting new ones (hech hemm, namely my own)!? blah!

don’t listen to me, i’m just being cranky. i mean, really, i’m complaining that i had a dentist appointment when i really want to finish a project. POOR ME.

maybe it’s this rain? i think i need to go workout actually. all i know is i feel like I say no to fun things all the time in exchange to do work. which i really, really enjoy, and it’s my choice, as i actually often prefer to work! but it sometimes can leave me miffed, like “does everyone else make more time for fun in their lives?” or maybe it’s more dumbfounded, like “can i really be expected to get anything accomplished in life when there’s only a short time left in each day after sleeping (and other basic maintenance tasks such as bathing, eating, etc)?”

things i have spent stupid amounts of valuable time on lately:
– dentist yearly checkup. ~ 2 hours (parking & travel time included in these)
– obgyn yearly checkup. ~ 2 hours
– figuring out how much money I can afford to put in my IRA for 2005
(gulp, not as much as I’d like after the giganto hunk of taxes i have to pay)
– cleaning my house (I had to forgo my workout that day for the 1.5 hour clean up job instead)
– writing this post

i just wish i had time to do it all! it feels annoying constantly getting to the end of every day with more to do… with to do items unfinished. and it’s sure as hell not for a lack of trying – i’m working my ass off over here!

i think i am feeling overwhelmed. and not even really by work… but by things like how many great books i want to read, how many awesome magazines i have all over my house but feel like i’ll never get through and when i do, what will i gain? will i bookmark everything that’s interesting and actually follow up on them? go to the website, remember the tip, save the recipe, etc. i mean shit! there’s so many cool sites and blogs and cartoons and projects and people out there… i’m probably missing so much all by running on my own teeny hamster wheel all day every day!

alright.. so that’s pretty much it. i’m cranky & i just had to vent it out. blah!

UPDATE, 10 minutes later: Continuing the conversation with myself…
First of all, I think this has come up today especially because of, what is now a common term in our fast-paced society: INFORMATION OVERLOAD. I went to a bunch of cool websites I had bookmarked, that led me to a bunch of other cool websites and projects and artists and awesome designy stuff, and by the end of it I find myself in a downward spiral of feeling like I’m not doing enough. “Not enough” is the stupidest feeling. I basically just did #1, #5 & #10 on the How to Feel Miserable as an Artist list (thank you keri smith!).

So here’s the deal (more talking to myself):
– You are not defined by your accomplishments
– You have plenty of time to be fabulous in life. In fact guess what? YOU ALREADY ARE! (ask misty! haha)
– This (feeling) too will pass.
– You are kicking ass & taking names lately, and just because you’re not SUPERHUMAN, doesn’t mean you’re not doing a great job!
– Life is just as much about the small little tasks we need to do to take care of ourselves, as it is the things we do for friends, family members or clients. I think someone wrote a book on this… Don’t sweat the small stuff. :) You have to take care of yourself and it’s good you take the time to do so. Ignoring those areas wouldn’t help anyone, particularly yourself, in the long run. Stop beating yourself up about it.
– You make time for fun in your life. Working hard and for long hours is a choice. Don’t be a victim of your own choices.

Instead of “shoulding” yourself to death (I should do laundry, I should go workout, I should upload my photos, I should fix my calendar, I should redesign my portfolio site, I should blah blah blah), take solace in the fact that you’re doing a kick ass job at scheduling your life and getting shit done. You can’t do it all in a day, it will always take time. Our days in this life are made up of this and they consist of choices we make. You don’t have to read all the books at the same time. You can throw some magazines away or know you don’t have to get something out of everything… reading can be a relaxing escape, it doesn’t all have to be about productivity.

Bargaining: I will work for 3 more hours tonite, till 11, and then I can watch TiVo or a movie (this is my ultimate relaxation) and CHILL! You deserve it!

the last couple of days have been so fun! i have roughly 400 photos to sort through from the national/mark eitzel/division day show on thursday, and the foreign born/we are scientists show friday and lastnight’s hijack show @ the rickshaw! we’ve been having a blast & there’s a lot to tell, but I’m going to try to get productive for a solid 5 or 6 hours to make some serious progress on this project i’m trying to wrap up – which may mean I sadly don’t make it to the 12 galaxies april fashionfest deal, darnit! anyway, work and then i’m going to hop to the gym to move a little, and THEN i’ll come back home & actually take some time to sort, post, etc. so stay toooooned!

UPDATE @ 11:30pm: Ok, maybe my posting photos & such won’t happen tonite. Turns out I put in a 10 hour workday (I did go to the gym for some quick cardio earlier tonite though – yay!), so I really am wanting to relax and be *off* the computer for a little while before I have to hit the hay. Come to think of it, tomorrow’s a really busy day, too – so I’m not sure when I’ll get to them. gah! Anyway – eventually they’ll be here. Hope you all had a great weekend!!