more on berlin

the kit for berlin, originally uploaded by mjane.

now that i've cleared the craziness of the tradeshow from my brain, my thoughts on berlin become a little more clear. first of all, there is something about the color of berlin, the way the natural light hits the city. lucky for me, the skies were pretty clear during my whole stay there, yet as the sun shone the city maintained this unique sedate color. if you've ever been there i'm sure you'll be reminded of what i mean when you look at the photos. it's not dark, but it's not bright. it's berlin, i suppose.

as far as the vibe goes, it's calm, but happening. meaning, it's definitely not flashy, but you can tell straight up that berliners know what's going down/what's in/what's out. one of my favorite spots was hackescher markt. granted there is art everywhere, once you step into this part of town, you see art on every wall, every building; stickers and posters on every pole, trash can, and sidewalk; and the population transits into a younger crowd. you see windows with people chatting, looking, eating, or drinking; the streets buzzing with youth; and the shopping - it was excellent, well-rounded and full of great ideas.

i should note that a lot of the observations i'm making about berlin are more like comparisons to my opinion about living in france. as much of a good experience it is to live in the "french riviera,"i feel like the region is behind on the times. image is everything down here, but when a city's not even up-to-date with what that is, they've got a ways to go. for example, the well-to-do, successful image still consists of wearing a tie. meaning, the french down here will be the first ones to turn down a 30-year-old kid at the door because his 300-euro jacket, 200-euro jeans, 55-euro cap and 150-euro sneakers (all while carrying a debit card with at least 200k and priceless gold-plated mont blanc pen in his pocket) don't fit their definition of "image" (true story, by the way). ironically, a lot of the reason why i don't go out down here is because the idea of having no option but to wear something stiff and black and old-person-looking would go against everything i consider my image to be.

with that, the complete opposite is true about berlin. or at least, they already understand that it's okay to generate and encourage elements of what is young and new to progress the city in a number of different ways. i enjoyed berlin very much! i could do without the cold, but the city has a lot to offer: a great vibe, lots of history, and a seemingly endless amount of great ideas.

the brick trail that runs through the city is all that remains of the wall, originally uploaded by mjane.

taxi benzes, originally uploaded by mjane.

the dents in this century-old fountain are battle wounds from the war that you'll see in many of the monuments here, originally uploaded by mjane.

a cbs piece on a building, originally uploaded by mjane.

fixins in berlin, originally uploaded by mjane.

this alley is filled with art, originally uploaded by mjane.

bread & butter berlin

a pointer custom in the untitled exhibition, originally uploaded by mjane.

aside from it being something you eat on the side, it's also one of europe's biggest fashion tradeshows that takes place in the city of - not the band - berlin.

and after spending 5 days in a city which i can only describe as berlin - because of its unique history (you can see a brick trail of where the wall used to stand), wherein each night i dreamt of cuts, materials, catalogues, seasons and exchanging business cards (thus feeling like i never got any sleep), i'm pooped.

en tout cas, s'est bien passé le voyage à berlin. car c'est une ville metropolitaine, c'est plus comme chez moi - with more young people like me, good shopping, a variety of different foods (not just sausage and beer), art everywhere... in other words, a scene exists there, and that's golden for the l.a. chick that i am.

...okay, weather permitting.

plus de détails à bientôt.

winter colors

truly azur, originally uploaded by mjane.

the past week was full of colors despite the cold that has hit the south of france. as mackenzie said while he was packing for his overnight trip to lyon for the cliché video premier yesterday, "i hate cold." hear, hear!

lonely wall..., originally uploaded by mjane.

is lonely no longer, thanks to the homie "tseloot" and mackenzie, originally uploaded by mjane.

my dandy feet, originally uploaded by mjane.

i must say

you-don't-have-to-call-him-french-here fred , originally uploaded by mjane.

there is one cliché that's not so.
it's unique canary.
and bucky-wild.

2006

champagne, joints, and the boys on new year's eve, originally uploaded by mjane.

one weekend into the new year, and time is already flying! this is a good thing as the flow, yet speedy, is a soft and gentle breeze.

next week starts the soldes craze again for france. like i've mentioned before, all retail stores in france - by law - have huge sales two times a year during the months of january and july. so we're preparing for it this weekend at the shop. as we'll be open til 10pm the first few days of soldes, i'm thinking of giving it a twist. perhaps a happy hour?

enough about work. it's the weekend!

neat

Your Birthdate: January 10

Independent and dominant, you tend to be the alpha dog in most situations. You're very confident, and hardly anything ever shakes you. Mundane tasks tend to drain you - you prefer to be making great plans. You are quite original. When people don't "get" you, it bothers you a lot. Your strength: Your ability to gain respect Your weakness: Caring too much what others think Your power color: Orange-red Your power symbol: Letter X Your power month: October

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

work of art

goddamn. somebody is testing me for real.

this morning, i woke up just in time to see the sunrise. it was gorgeous. i did my morning ritual and even had time to make breakfast for when i got to the shop (but i forgot to pack a fork). i was listening to kanye for the ride over... but when i got closer, i felt some weird vibe as i saw ian, tom, romi, and the homies from concept store kicking it in front of the shop. and when i got there - as no one said anything - saw that our front door was completely busted. they hit the glass at least five times with a huge piece of cement that they left in front of the door. and i'm sure they tried to kick it in as hard as they could as the foundation of the door is completely cracked. oh buddy. good stuff.

still standing, originally uploaded by mjane.

ian painting in front of 4 wheels (on a lighter note), originally uploaded by mjane.

we gone be chill...

don't think twice, it's alright

the sunrise: the only sight of sun on xmas eve, originally uploaded by mjane.

i've been watching no direction home the past couple of days. although i don't listen to much folk music, i do listen to bob dylan often. and the documentary so far is just as i hoped - chill, gentle, stoic, and funny, just like dylan's voice, words, and guitar. anyway, there was a time in his career when he decided to hook up with a blues band and record some songs with them. the first time he performed with them was at a folk music concert, and his predecessors and some of the audience didn't take too well to the "distortion" and "electric guitar."

to them, all that electricity didn't fit their standards of folk. it was rock, it was selling out. but perhaps it was really just a matter of change for bob dylan. and wasn't that the message behind much of the folk music movement of the 60s?

i feel like that's the how the majority of France is - old. and the average reaction to change isn't altogether positive. one example, when i'm in the shop, there's always somebody who walks by, takes a look, then walks away saying something like, "oh, c'est tendance (it's trendy)," or "bon chance (good luck)," with a negative tone. maybe i'm spoiled because i come from los angeles, a place that i feel like thrives on change. but at the same time, it's in my nature not to limit myself to applying just those standards or rules or commandments to myself that have survived through the ages. i'm making my own standards, and i'm making them through my own experiences - not via some rule, let's say, written by a homie who was influenced by a life lived thousands of years ago. hey, i wore a uniform for twelve years.

happy holidays

tres abstract, tres french, originally uploaded by mjane.

2005 is gonna be in the books soon. it's been a fantastic psychedelic super puffy crazy and trippy ride this year. a lot of learning, a lot of fun, a lot of growing up (while maintaining a healthy glow), a lot of projects, and open doors. in the end, i'm happy to say that i have no regrets.

with that, imma pop that champagne bottle as i ride out the rest of the 05 this weekend. i'm starting the new year come monday. start early, finish strong. that's how i roll.


. . . and party, and bullshit, and party, and bullshit . . .

je bosse

i've been working like a dog the past couple of weeks that the holidays has slipped my mind. it's probably also due to the luck that christmas falls on a sunday - my only day off. but no worries. i like being surrounded by clothing and shoes. i just hope that some of my flavor rubs off on the joint and that people find interest in it. meet me all the way, rosanna, yeah.

my view from the bus around 7:45 am, originally uploaded by mjane.

eye candy, originally uploaded by mjane.

sounds of boards slamming, wheels rolling in front of the shop come 6pm, originally uploaded by mjane.

cedric from sugar mag and jj eating at frank's, originally uploaded by mjane.

l'ouverture

hot rod opened this weekend. it's a learn-as-you-go process. there's a lot to do, and then there's a lot more to do - and a lot i learn - after every task, every potential client. it's fun. keeps me on my toes. and i laugh almost every five minutes. i think the funniest thing to me is starting a genuine routine and hearing myself speak french. i feel like a little girl.

the spot, originally uploaded by mjane.

the vitrine was done by our friend france., originally uploaded by mjane.

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?