Gidget is Back

Friends Quanti & Reider going out for a ride

My computer is finally back from repair (sorry for the lack of a warning!) but plan on seeing lots of goods coming your way. I got some plans down!

Love Letters & Paper Cranes,

Anja Rubik for Vogue Australia April 2011 by Max Doyle

I'd like every bit of this Australia Vogue spread. Please & Thank you.

Love Letters & Paper Cranes,

West Coast Love -- Charles Visits

My friend from Ohio (now NY), Charles, came to visit this past week and he made a little video commemorating our (short) time together! I wish we got some footage of our Sake House 34oz beers!

Billabong's "I Surf Because..." Faves

I Surf Because... -Joel Parkinson from Billabong USA on Vimeo.

I Surf Because... -Donavon Frankenreiter from Billabong USA on Vimeo.

Andy Irons "i surf because" short film from Billabong on Vimeo.

Knowing why people surf will never get old. I love passionate people and Andy Irons was definitely one of them.

Love Letters & Paper Cranes,

Sunday Kind of Loves: Filofaxes, Colorlovers, & Skateparks

Photo by Me

• getting inspired by colors • playing with my new 7D • getting a filofax for $1.99! now just to buy the calendar... • drawing errrday • art ideas for Japan relief • midnight phone calls • Sake House happy hour • going out into the water • brainstorming photo projects • being able to go to the beach on a whim • APPLYING FOR BIG GIRL JOBS, ESPECIALLY ONE THAT IS LITERALLY BUILT FOR ME • braiding my hair • meeting new people • flirting • thoughtful text messages • not having a television (what is on tv anyway nowadays?) • Darren Criss *swoon Lord Almighty... let me pick my jaw up off the floor* • Mix CDs coming in the mail from an awesome friend • my mother finally coming home from Europe • Fiona Apple • coworker karaoke nights at Boardwalk 11 • bicycle rides on the boardwalk • designing my business card • Knowing when to quit something POINTLESS!! •

Love Letters & Paper Cranes,

Skaters & graffiti

A few days ago, I went to the Venice Skate Park on the Venice Boardwalk. It's always a good place to meet people and see some talented guys skate. I saw Kelly Hart filming something I'm assuming for a promo or some photoshoot thing, which was pretty sweet. Especially when he let some guy riding two skateboards slide into his shot. Ha! I'm still adjusting to having a 7D... took a bunch of video and I'm wanting to make a compilation of as much of Venice as I can.

R.I.P. Sion Milosky

source SURFER MAGAZINE

The surfing community lost yet another life. Professional surfer, Sion Milosky of Kalaheo, Kauai, Hawaii, lost his life at Maverick's Wednesday. According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel,

"Sion had caught a handful waves before he took a two-wave hold-down and apparently drowned. The report went on to state that Nathan Fletcher found Sion’s body floating about a mile from the lineup."

Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through his passing. Sion was a professional, but always be careful and wary when you're out in the water (especially in places like Maverick's *shudder*) because you can't always predict the ocean's next move. Ride your level and don't get stupid and surf more than you know you can. Be safe out there friends.

Love Letters & Paper Cranes,

Why Don't You Wednesday

You think she drew that dragon? Yeah, me neither.  

• Grab some sharpies or waterproof paint markers and create a work on art on your plain ol' fish (or longboard... even more space ladies!).
• check out clubofthewaves.com. Can you say super talented surf artists? 
• buy a film camera and relive the days of film. 
• Learn a new skill.
• build a PVC surf rack for your bike (YouTube that shiz and get to work!)
• Learn to make authentic Tabbouleh. I'm OBSESSED okay?
• Call up your parental units. 
• Surprise your best friend with something special. 
• Paint your nails a crazy bright happy color. 
• Buy brightly colored index cards, write your positive affirmations on them about yourself and your life, carry them with you everywhere, read them aloud to yourself whenever you have a moment. 
• Quit a bad habit. Drop smoking, drinking every day, surfing the internet instead of your board, etc. 
• Go thrifting for new reading material. 
• NOT do anything unnatural to your bedhead of beautiful hair. Let it grow wild, woman. 
• design your personal identity logo. If you had to sum up yourself in one image... what would it be? 

Surfing Tsunamis--Hm, not Quite.

Beautiful rendition of The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Dominique Amendola. 

Don't be misled by the painting. Before you can even pull on your suit & booties, ask yourself: can you surf a tsunami? Hmm... uh, yeah, no. I'll explain in a bit.

What has happened to Japan this past weekend is a truly terrible catastrophe that no one should ever go through. Living in California, our entire west coast is surrounded by water and I rarely think that something I love so dearly can also be so dangerous. I never think that this massive body of water can ruin lives as easily as it can bring joy. A tsunami can bring destruction within seconds, hardly giving living things a moment to gather their treasures, and sometimes save their own lives. I'm not one to be able to say I survived a crazy event like the citizens of Japan can.

I have, however, become more intrigued though as to what causes a tsunami? Does it even create "better" waves (in the surfing sense)? In one of my previous posts, I nabbed a quote from Surfline saying:

"A tsunami is a series of long ocean waves. Each individual wave crest can last 5 to 15 minutes or more and extensively flood coastal areas. The danger can continue for many hours after the initial wave as subsequent waves arrive. Tsunami wave heights cannot be predicted and the first wave may not be the largest. Tsunami waves efficiently wrap around islands. All shores are at risk no matter which direction they face. The trough of a tsunami wave may temporarily expose the seafloor but the area will quickly flood again. Extremely strong and unusual nearshore currents can accompany a tsunami. Debris picked up and carried by a tsunami amplifies its destructive power. Simultaneous high tides or high surf can significantly increase the tsunami hazard."

So why can't you ride the face of a tsunami? 

1. Because there isn't one. 
2. Forget Maverick's, Teahupoo, and other monstrous waves you've seen around the interwebs (or in real life). A tsunami is a wall of whitewater. Yucky, gross, crumbly, fast-moving whitewater. Times ten. There is only a small portion of the wave that stacks up nicely and the rest is just a wall of crap. 
3. Tsunamis are powerful... as if you need my blog to tell you that. I'm talking 500mph powerful. 
4. Tsunamis are giant compressed waves in motion. so you can't duck dive or float so easily over the top few feet like you can at your local surf break.
5. The trough is moving quickly after each compression starts (called a drawback), exposing normally submerged parts of the ocean and poses an extreme risk of submerging anything/anyone that is caught meandering in that unfortunate spot.

According to Wikipedia, there are two things that make a tsunami super destructive: 

• the smashing force of a wall of water travelling at high speed
• the destructive power of a large volume of water draining off the land and carrying all with it, even if the wave did not look large.

Tsunamis are generally caused by earthquakes, although not always, and the earthquake has to happen close to or underneath a body of water. Japan is surrounded by water if you have not noticed. Other causes of these monsters include underwater volcanic eruptions. Tsunamis have an average wavelength of about 120 miles, which makes them hard to detect out in the deep blue ocean. When the water becomes shallow, the wave slows down and compresses; making it's amplitude quite large (and that is where people get the impression of a Jaws or Maverick's wave). The resulting breaking peaks are what causes the destruction by breaking onto the land it ran up onto. 

It definitely is an asset knowing what causes the ocean to stir in unusual ways. I won't lie, I definitely went out in Venice the day of the tsunami hitting California. Tsunamis are dangerous. Seriously, they're f*cking monsters... We didn't get giant waves, but it definitely was a little strange with the tide changing so quickly (now we don't really worry about the waves as much as the potential radiation from Japan's nuclear power plants). Learn the ocean you surf in. Leave the super big storm waves for the pros/skilled surfers and seek higher ground if you're ever in risk of a highly destructive tsunami. 

Love letters & Paper cranes,

Sunday Kind of Loves: Canon 7D, Inspirations, & Good Conversations

Photo by James R.D. Scott

This week was pretty good. Not heavenly, not hellish... just good. It was kind of a floating week where It just passed by. I honestly have had more ideas though for content and I'm excited to make OWaM something a little bit more concrete (tak! tak!) So what made this week GREAT and not so-so? Here are my loves this week:

• morning bike rides to grab coffee • getting my 7D in the mail... yes, I got a camera • Seeing Shepard Fairey's work in person • getting back out into the water • the fact my underwater housing works!! • having breakfast made for you • iPad 2 is awesome! • catching up on sleep • new clothes • The Law of Attraction • hot tea • new sunnies to replace my old ones (I'll probably sit on these in a few days, as usual) • warm weather finally (I know I live in California... but it's been cold the past couple of days!) • gathering things for my inspiration board • Repeating daily affirmations • roommates • Going into Mood Fabrics (just like on Project Runway!) • T's Thai with Chuck & inspiring conversation with him about just doing what you love and becoming successful with it • Pictures of the Satorialist with Haruki Murakami book covers... can you say PERFECT?! • Finding my laundry money! I can finally do laundry! • ... and purging my closet. it's gonna happen again • 

Tsunami Warning

Surfline states:

A tsunami is a series of long ocean waves. Each individual wave crest can last 5 to 15 minutes or more and extensively flood coastal areas. The danger can continue for many hours after the initial wave as subsequent waves arrive. Tsunami wave heights cannot be predicted and the first wave may not be the largest. Tsunami waves efficiently wrap around islands. All shores are at risk no matter which direction they face. The trough of a tsunami wave may temporarily expose the seafloor but the area will quickly flood again. Extremely strong and unusual nearshore currents can accompany a tsunami. Debris picked up and carried by a tsunami amplifies its destructive power. Simultaneous high tides or high surf can significantly increase the tsunami hazard.

With the talk of strong nearshore currents, I advise not to go out today. Just take a day to help Japan and to watch the ocean for anything super unusual... she's a crazy mistress.

If I Could Wear Anything - Daily Outfits

This week, I logged into my polyvore.com account and totally forgot about these outfits I made last fall. If you don't know what polyvore is, it is a very cool way to put together collages of things. The main purpose, as obviously other people found, is to put together outfits... kind of like a virtual paper doll with clothes that you can actually purchase. 

I feel like my personality is a little more... eccentric than most; and I want my outfits to portray my personality a little bit more. As a person who cares about their appearance (well, lately, it has been slacking. Uck) it's a good way to get outfits and inspiration together. I don't own any of these items myself... but it doesn't stop me from looking for things that are similar and just as good. But I do admit... I'm about to purchase those Sam Edelman Zoe booties...  

So Electric

Forget Forks

Frontways and sideways and longways...

Happiest Place on Earth

Why Don't You Love Me?

This song has been stuck in my head for the past day and I've forgotten how awesome this video is.

Sunday Kind of Loves: Corgi puppies, The "Secret", & Sushi Dinners

photo by mattyfranklin

• Making Tabbouleh for the first time ever! • spending a week with my pops • finding out "the secret" • gratitude • finding the perfect black skinny jeans • getting a free issue of Oxygen magazine from a lady on the airplane • sushi dinners • getting addicted to LOST (a million years late, I know!) • hugs from people I've missed • seeing my dog sleep her weird way (Putting her butt on the couch, her front paws on the ground, and then her head resting on the coffee table) • discovering new music • figuring out how things are done in Final Cut • grocery shopping for something other than crackers/cup o' noodles • having a couch in my house! • Supernanny & Glee marathons • finding a neon coral incase sleeve for my macbook pro • new ipad2 lust • Andrew Bird • feeling warm weather again • little girls drawing portraits of me on the airplane back to California • being domestic • UH GETTING MY CAMERA/WATER HOUSING THIS WEEK • runs on the beach • corgi puppies • Bodega happy hour with my friends at home • Bob Evans breakfast • coffee with my dad • 

Things You Should Know About... Los Angeles

billboard by Jon Jackson

I've been living in Los Angeles for about five months now. I like it, I hate it, I love it, I have a bipolar relationship with this crazy city. After a week away I have decided that Los Angeles is not going to be my home forever. I don't know where I will go afterwards but Los Angeles is an animal I don't want to take care of forever. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna learn something new about this city every week so here are just somethings I've observed so far, big and little.

One, the obvious: Take whatever time Google maps gives you... and add about 30-45 minutes of traveling time on top of that. Unless you're traveling in the wee hours of the morning, everywhere you go will take at least 45 minutes to one hour. The other week I was driving from my internship and 11 miles took my an hour and 45 minutes. Take the public transportation system or, better yet, ride your bike if you can.

Two: everyone here loves their pets. WAY too much. I love animals too but I have never seen so many doggie daycares or pet boutiques and hotels in my life. It's like Starbucks; one on every corner.

Three: People on craigslist and in thrift stores are delusional. "Hey I bought this couch for 8k ten years ago... it has rips and coffee stains and maybe a blood stain or two... but I'm asking 5,000! It's a steal! come and get it!" Uh, no. Same with thrift stores. You can go to a Marshalls or TJMAXX and get the same exact little knick knacks for about the same price... brand new! I love thrifting for the element of surprise. Every time I go there is something new to find. My mother and I found this amazing silk couch with a beautiful wooden frame in PERFECT condition back in Ohio for about $90. Here that thing would sell at a thrift store for about $500. Isn't the whole point of thrift stores and craigslist to get RID of your stuff/crap? Stop being greedy. I know LA is expensive but know/realize the worth of your stuff instead of being crazy.

Four: You really can find your niche and, perhaps, happiness here... if you work hard for it.

Song of Summer

I've found your perfect summer anthem. The Naked & Famous' "Young Blood," Enjoy!