little homegirl

quirina celebrated her 4th birthday on november 26th at home with friends and fam. i couldn't be there, but got to see good coverage of the romp via mark.

little sugar junkies, originally uploaded by mjane.

twenty-nine

the chill out, originally uploaded by mjane.

happy birthday, darling.

relax, i'm a professional

hide that shit, originally uploaded by mjane.

i'm working out of hot rod these days with my ibook sitting on a plank of wood being held up by two metal racks. it's good to be in here already even though we're not open to the public quite yet. after a couple of weeks of being in here, i realized that the friends of hot rod and i have something in common: we never turn down a joint that's passed to us. and somehow from that notion, the under-construction hot rod has evolved into a makeshift smoke room as well.

one day, though, the insurance dude walked through the door just as julien was breaking some shit up for a joint. a frazzled-julien put an ocb pack on top of the shit as to hide it while the insurance dude checked out our newly installed bullet-proof windows (that's right, you 06 thugs) to make sure they were within insurance standards. good thing he didn't notice the shit (even though the smoke-filled room wreaked of it) cuz insurance don't cover that shit.

waves

it was storming pretty badly on friday. rain coming down in buckets and super-strong winds. it was so windy friday night that i couldn't go to sleep for a long time because it was whistling so loudly. when i woke up the next morning, the wind was still blowing strong, but the sun was out, and there were waves! i had to stretch and rub my eyes to make sure i was seeing the view correctly. yup, those are waves alright - big, beautiful waves. all i did that whole day was stare out at the sea and watch the waves crash. the air even smelled like salt water. it reminded me of home.

the waves died down later in the evening, and mack and i couldn't resist going to texas city for our non-stop craving of mexican food and margaritas. when we got back to the apartment, we watched the miss france pageant. i was sad to see that the typical, plain blond girl from languedoc won over my favorite, miss ile de france who came in as her 1st runner-up. i predicted miss languedoc would win when they picked the final 5 even though miss ile de france was clearly the best. but perhaps the pageant didn't want a woman of color to become miss france 2 years in a row. isn't it enough that they've included the token miss tahiti for the miss france pageant?

post storm, originally uploaded by mjane.

waves, originally uploaded by mjane.

les baskets

while i was watching the re-play of the lakers/spurs game last night, canal+ (the closest thing to american hbo) aired a commercial for a movie they're showing tonight that a lot of people all over the place have been talking about... sneakers. i'm stoked. this is new for the french mainstream.

i remember when mackenzie and i first visited paris for mack's then-potential job with pony. i introduced his boss and the marketing director to fixins, and they told me that as cool as it would be to plan sneaker events for paris, the majority of french people don't regard that a sneaker culture exists. are you kidding me? this majority wears nothing but sneakers on a daily basis!

all they need is some guidance as how to identify that they're freaks themselves. all of those sneakers in your closet, that's called a collection. and so on and so forth...

smoke some weed

i'm having a bad day. and to have a bad day, especially in france, is not usually my style as i feel like i'd be conforming to their culture. in any case, today is crap. and when i feel like this, i observe all the shortcomings of this place.

basically, it boils down to this: lack of color. this is completely ironic because when the sun shines on the côte d'azur, it's a gorgeous spectrum of color. and then you got diddy in st. tropez, the cannes film festival, and the rumor that i live in monte carlo. thus the millions of tourists, ex-pat community, and so on and so forth. but with all its glitz, there's the exact opposite that is the everyday life. the banlieues (aka suburbs, aka projects), the high unemployment rate, and the eu, among other issues, seem to drain the colors out. whatever. without getting into any real topic, let's just say that this joint would be a happier spot if people understood color and knew how to integrate some color in their everyday lives. like the saying goes, color makes the world go round.

time to make this crap day a better one. you know the remedy.

hot rod has mirrors now, originally uploaded by mjane.

scenes

i went out last friday for the first time in a while. it was completely painless! we were among a more diverse crowd, a rare opportunity, in a warehouse-like atmosphere for an art showing. a band called princess cum played. they were pretty cool. i enjoyed the evening.

a wall, originally uploaded by mjane.

we're watching the band, originally uploaded by mjane.

the band: princess cum, originally uploaded by mjane.

this better be entertaining, he thinks, originally uploaded by mjane.

i love l.a.

cheers

us, originally uploaded by mjane.

mackenzie and i celebrated our first anniversary seven days ago. one year and counting...

from carrie's quandaries. . .

since birth, modern women have been told we can do and be anything we want. be an astronaut, the head of an internet company, a stay-at-home mom. there aren't any rules anymore, and the choices are endless. and apparently they can all be delivered right to your door. but is it possible that we've gotten so spoiled by choices that we've become unable to make one? ~ carrie bradshaw

idiosyncrasies

november weather, originally uploaded by mjane.

per the request of ms. mia, i'm listing my "peculiar behavioral characteristics" in this entry.

1. i don't care for small-talk. silence isn't uncomfortable for me.

2. i have a short temper.

3. i opt for wearing high heels whenever possible.

4. i always carry a camera in my purse.

5. i prefer to eat big breakfasts which almost always consists of eggs and rice.

6. i always try to smile when greeting someone.

7. i don't usually like to talk on the phone.

8. in group settings (classroom, meeting), i love to give people mental makeovers.

9. i'm constantly in a state of observing/examining people and cultures.

10. i play with my hair for no reason.

11. i have daily battles with myself regarding fitting in enough a la française and being completely me.

12. i constantly strive to make myself happy/satisfied with every single moment of my day.

13. if i have the time, i sit in front of my closet, look at all my clothes and shoes, and make mental outfits.

14. i crave socal mexican food and milk shakes on a daily basis.

15. i feel naked without earrings. my hoops, usually.

16. i'm an unintentional name-dropper.

17. i love to read the news.

there's more, i'm sure, but i just can't think of them right now.

glorious elisabeth, originally uploaded by mjane.

october endings

place massena, originally uploaded by mjane.

look at these little kids, so cute, originally uploaded by mjane.

i pretty much spent most of the week hanging out at place massena in nice. mack's been working it over there, and i find myself tagging along which is so interesting. it's kind of weird as massena is a skate spot. and i'm just not usually a bystander like that when it comes to mackenzie's hobbies/job. you know, i'm more the girlfriend/wife who you'll find in the apartment offering you a drink and the joint when you stop by to see mackenzie. yet i've noticed that since moving to france, i've been "out in the field" more with the husband. it's pretty entertaining, but definitely temporary.

anyway, for the weekend, we ate at this restaurant in nice called bruno's on saturday night. it's all about truffles there. i learned about truffles back in february so it was kind of cool having the opportunity to have dinner there and tasting truffles from supposedly the best truffle restaurant in the south of france. mackenzie and i had the steak with seared foie gras on top of it accompanied by potatoes (au gratin) with truffles... and truffle sauce... and truffle oil... and more and more truffles. on sunday, we went to st. tropez with a couple who are friends with the eisenhours. good fun.

and now it's halloween. i think france started celebrating it about 5 years ago. but i haven't really seen anybody dressed up today.

port in st. tropez, originally uploaded by mjane.

sitting in traffic in st. tropez, originally uploaded by mjane.

the new gen

i can't believe how big our family's getting. just last week, the latest member arthur jackson was born to my cousin colleen and ryan. congrats. now there are four little people making up the new generation. and they are the funniest, most honest and independent little people i know.

the fam (a lot of members are missing though - just add 2-3 people per person shown here to get a picture of how big the clan is) taken at my mom's 65th birthday in '04, originally uploaded by mjane.

landon and quirina, originally uploaded by mjane.

mila and her mommy melissa, originally uploaded by mjane.

the lotas with colleen and ryan's baby arthur (i stole this photos from uncle raymond), originally uploaded by mjane.

hot sauces: a ghetto review

my relationship with "hot sauce" began with my dad and my sister putting hot sauce on almost everything they ate - Tabasco sauce, chinese hot chili sauce, vietnamese hot oil, jalapenos, chili peppers, etc. etc. and of course, i was curious about what all the craze was about, so i soon followed suit and would dabble in hot sauces. over the years, my dad gained a reputation for being able to tolerate extremely hot sauces. a couple of years ago, my auntie sent him a couple of jars of an indonesian hot sauce. my dad gave mack and me one of the bottles and warned that it takes barely a drop of it to feel intense heat. mack tried at least a tablespoon of it on his first try, i barely tasted a drop of it, and the reaction from us both was hot. after that, we got a kick out of trying hotter and hotter sauces as if there's some sort of on-going competition taking place - how much heat can you take, and who can take the most heat. the last hot sauce that was so hot and painful and good was a brasilian sauce that our favorite restaurant in paris made. it was so good that we sent a bottle to my dad. i thought it would take him a year to get through the sauce. he asked if we could get him more of it after three months.

mackenzie's parents just returned from their holiday in hawaii and los angeles. along with the many goodies they brought back were a handful of hot sauces. mack and i have tried three of them. i'm breaking a sweat just thinking about them. these are the latest:

colon cleaner, originally uploaded by mjane.

i'm not too sure about this sauce. mackenzie and i agreed that this was the least exciting of the three sauces. it's chunky and yellow/orange in color. mackenzie says it tastes like chutney. i don't think there's any spice to it at all.

see jane burn, originally uploaded by mjane.

mack and i think that this was the best sauce out of the three bottles. not only is the bottle art cute, the sauce is very tasty. it's like a mix between Tiger Sauce (another very good sauce) and Thai Sweet Chili Pepper sauce. and it's very hot.

pain, originally uploaded by mjane.

oh god. the title don't lie. i wouldn't say it's 100% pain when you eat it. it's like 90% pain. it's similar to an Asian chili sauce (the texture reminds me of the Indonesian hot sauce). but it is 100% pain when you take a #2 on the toilet. . . for days.

nuances

My bedroom in my parents’ house is set up like Carrie’s apartment in Sex and the City, except smaller. And without the living area and the kitchen. When I was a kid, sometimes I’d imagine that along the walk from my bed to the bathroom some scary monsters or ghosts would stop me in the hallway, pushing and taunting me. I guess I have a bizarre imagination, but when I was kid it would definitely get the best of me. And it would take me forever to get out of bed some mornings.

That’s how I’ve been feeling this week. The path between my bed and the rest of the world seems a bit sketchy. I feel as if I can’t be bothered with the back-and-forth of everything. Whatever, it’s funky. That’s it.

So I’m at the shop on a regular basis now. In the company of men, apparently. It’s relatable to the movie Anchorman, just change the scenery from being a newsroom to a skate shop. A French skate shop. In Nice. Anyway, in all the years I’ve worked with all-male staffs, I could capitalize on my experiences and write a book on the subject. Don’t worry, I won’t. At least, not yet.

In the meantime, Mack and I are taking advantage of the desk on the second floor of 4 Wheels. It's a very nice location, actually. I'm surrounded by cool clothing and get to watch people shop all day. It's vicarious: my shopping tendacies are relieved through strangers' spending. Very cool.

4 Wheels: another one of my makeshift offices (mack's my stand-in), originally uploaded by mjane.

my view of the floor, originally uploaded by mjane.

. . .
The apartment is coming along. We’re so close to being wired it’s painful. As I’ve mentioned many times since I’ve moved here, France loves paper –including the waste and shuffle of it – with the intention of calling it “work*.” In this case, Mackenzie has spent 3 weeks so far in helping us get a dial tone from France Telecom. And we’re crossing our fingers that one of their technicians will come as scheduled next Monday between 11 and 1 to help us achieve this.

In the meantime, I notice that I’m making a true effort of letting things go as soon as they happen. It beats being upset. And I’m enjoying myself a lot more. During the summer I seemed to have misplaced the pleasure, the humor of what it is I’m doing out here, making it hard to maintain my livelihood in this still very foreign place I’m living in. But coming out of that now, and knowing what I want, things are mostly funny again.

Don’t get me wrong though, it’s a full-time job (that requires 100% attention) keeping myself positive, motivated and inspired, even when my next-door neighbor complained to Mackenzie this morning that I make too much noise when I wear heels. I’m reminded that it is one of the rules authorized by property management (which was last updated at least 15 years ago): women aren’t to wear high heels while walking in the building. That includes while I’m in my apartment. Damn, it’s like the Pharisees hating on Mary Magdalene. Oh well, no more walking around my apartment in just a bath towel and heels while getting ready…or cooking…which is very therapeutic, by the way. I’ll make the peace, although I observe the rule to be a symbol of repression (for lack of a better word).

*The French work 35-hours/week (and most offices close for lunch… usually 2 hours)

in a funk...

it's not my birthday, but we're celebrating anyway (photo:m.villanueva), originally uploaded by mjane.

ho hum blah blah blah. am undergoing a creative block.

signs

my makeshift office, originally uploaded by mjane.

Mercury, the planet of great ideas, is entertaining Pluto, the planet of power, giving you an astrological thumbs-up - and in some cases, a burning bush. not bad for a monday horoscope. here's a great idea: i would like to make a living in progress and positivity. in other words, love. in other words, the ultimate power.

fall

it's been a year since i moved to france, and only last week did i discover la maison de la presse in nice. to me, it's the only newstand here that nearly comes close to resembling what i consider a proper newstand. meaning, they carry a progressive selection of fashion/style magazines. last week was the first time i purchased magazines in france. i bought the fall issue of american vogue, the fall issue of french elle, and the october issue of french glamour. and now i feel safe as i'm "up-to-date" on the season. it's probably laughable how seriously i take fashion, but i'd be lying if i didn't admit that the saying, "you are what you wear" should be the third golden rule. anyway, it's not really about good fashion as it is about style.

some thoughts: unless you're chilling at some ski resort, don't wear the uggs (or anything that looks like it's meant for space exploration, jedis, etc.); sporting a scarf with a tank top doesn't make sense; platform sneakers were never "in"; and the 80s... well, that was about 20 years ago, wasn't it?

baby steps

i'm through waves of frustration as the move into my apartment is still happening. yeah, yeah, one thing at a time - i know! but these one-things are taking their sweet time, all to indulge in my quest for patience. one of these one-thingers is wiring the apartment up to rest of the world... and as of today, that hasn't happened yet. in any case, it's been a while since i last blogged-in. needless to say, a lot has happened.

before millie left, all hell broke loose one night, and a person of the male sex punched me in the face. the result: a sprained nose and a black left eye. i'm happy to say that my face finally has no trace of injury after three weeks of hiding under hats and sunglasses and hearing/telling boring, repetitive recollections of how i received the damned thing.

my shiner, originally uploaded by mjane.

two days after millie left for l.a. (i miss you mills!! you're funny!!!), the planned/spontaneous tour of oliver, lee, chris, chany, paul, jon, dan, danny, and mike to the cote d'azur commenced. i like to think that i'm a gonzo-photo-journalist. at this point though, it's still too early to assess how this trip was for me - i've got more photographic details than my my mind can handle, but nonetheless i was stoked on having the opportunity to catch up with old friends and making new ones.

the boys in st. paul, originally uploaded by mjane.

customized by york, so i'm calling it the york dunk. what?, originally uploaded by mjane.

the secret park in st. laurent (but the old ladies won't let them skate), originally uploaded by mjane.

cagnes sur mer: setting up, originally uploaded by mjane.

some preliminary thoughts:
oliver is as darling as ever;
have you met euro-roberts? he wears a beard, sips red wine in the evening, and smokes hashish;
chany the jedi has a great smile;
lee is a cool cat who i feel makes an amazing dance partner;
dan is one creative, multi-tasking wonder;
danny, "this is better than any birthday i've ever had;"
york: being in the company of men;

and more... but for later. meanwhile, the air has been feeling a bit more brisk these days, and my sunbathing sessions are numbered.

the view from my apt... to be continued, originally uploaded by mjane.

"c'est ma copine amelie"

"enchantée"

millie and mackenzie at the colombe d'or, originally uploaded by mjane.

wish at fondation maeght, originally uploaded by mjane.

mills and me, a.k.a. shinah, originally uploaded by mjane.

just looking, originally uploaded by mjane.

the cafe uptown, originally uploaded by mjane.

throwing words around

happy little californian, originally uploaded by mjane.

a woman i met yesterday made this statement, "california has turned into a police state."

i imagine that if california were a "police state" i probably wouldn't have had the luxury to be as lazy as i were and maintain habits such as smoking a joint while driving through the city, saying anything i want while conversing on the phone, and walking around my apartment naked.

hey, some people aren't necessarily great conversationalists, and needless to say, declaring california as a police state doesn't help the champagne go down easily. but it did make me realize that as i don't understand the experience in living in such an environment that i don't have a lot to complain nor worry about in comparison to those who do maintain progressive lives in places with so many boundaries to their personal freedoms.

jesus christ. what am i talking about? this is when i interject by saying, "speaking of los angeles, i'm going to see jurassic 5 perform in cannes tonight..." and what a show it was - ugly duckling and sharon jones and the dap kings opened for them. they were all great performances that got the audience hype the whole night. i wish i had my camera with me.

and now i get to end the weekend with a lazy, rainy sunday. i love it! am taking advantage of the weather as i know the coming week is going to be a big one. gonna move into our new place in st. laurent du var on friday, so that should keep me stimulated enough to stay excited and restless.

cokonutz en menton

okay, so it wasn't really cokonutz, but it sure looked like it could've been. mackenzie and i drove to menton one sunday to beach and skate. one of mack's friends builds ramps (sixieme sens), and he built this one right next to the sea in conjunction with a vw festival.

looking west on centre ville de menton, originally uploaded by mjane.

as soon as we arrived in menton, i fell in love with the town. very italian, full of color, and lots of people swimming and sun-bathing. after finding parking, mack and i both whipped out our cameras - his, a vx something or other, and mine, the nikon point n shoot.

an og vw carmengia (my bro is the pro at taking car photos), originally uploaded by mjane.

we entered the vw festival where old school bugs, eurovans/californias, and carmengias seemed to make the majority of the festival. it was funny because they were also holding a wet t-shirt contest. winner gets 150 euros. mack and i were joking about how i should enter it - one fifty for minutes of mild embarrassment is worth it, right? maybe not. in my brain i was picturing being on stage giving my worst imitation of a spring-breaking tourist dancing off-beatedly while some strange man poured a pitcher of water down my white-shirted chest. scratch that idea. i'll earn that one fifty in a less humiliating way, i decided, as toto and jules went to film the contest.

mackenzie the filmer, originally uploaded by mjane.

mack and i finally made our way to the skate demo which was just finishing up. as soon as we got there, mack breaks out his portable cassette player and holds it in one hand as he skated on the ramp with his surfas. in his get-up, people were more interested not in what music was on, but what he was on. apparently a natural high. and so was i as the setting was beautiful and bright. the ramp was situated in between the rocks and the sea. best of both worlds for this husband and wife duo.

there are two seats under the slide with two pairs of pedals in order to row this contraption; clearly, the adults got the short end of the stick with this gig, originally uploaded by mjane.

i took pictures in between sun-bathing and swimming.

toto and mack running shit, originally uploaded by mjane.

mack skating jungle-styles, originally uploaded by mjane.

this is how your run a skate shop, pt. ii, originally uploaded by mjane.

finally the sun set behind the west side of menton, and it was time to smoke a joint while the boys broke down the ramp. we hung around until 11pm, and then mack and i followed jules back to monaco to grab some burgers at the texan-owned "stars n bars" restaurant and checked out some spots for tw's upcoming tour happening on this side of the world in the near future.

break down, originally uploaded by mjane.

mack & cody from fort lauderdale, originally uploaded by mjane.

on the other side of the rocks is the sea, originally uploaded by mjane.

when we got home early the next morning, mackenzie eyed the footage from the vw fest. i fell asleep before catching the footy of the wet t-shirt contest. but mack told me all about it. (shaking my head) that's 150 euros i could've used. i completely forgot we were in france! meaning, the guys running the contest and its contestants had no idea what a wet t-shirt contest consists of. first of all, the girls they mustered up on stage were given thick dark blue t-shirts to wear. so obviously as the mc poured the pitcher of water over the girls' chests, there were no boobies seen-through the wet shirts. and the dancing was worse than off-beat embarrassment - there was no dancing. just a sort of uncomfortable and confused bobbing of bodies. in any case, i blew it - not only did the winner receive 150 euros, they got a trip for two to spain, and the title of "miss sexy côte d'azur." besides the fact that it's hardly a sexy way to gain it, i could do without the title.