memorial day weekend

although weekends aren't as big a deal for me as it is for everyone who works all week, this long weekend was the first that really felt like a huge deal for me.

friday night, i made an impromptu trip out to hermosa with some girlfriends and had fun, fun, fun!!! went bar hopping, ate some after-hours pizza, and had a lovely argument with some bill-o'reilly-following college kid about "liberty." poor kid.

saturday, i went to a santa cruzan event at st. genevieve's church in which quirina was one of the flower girls. it was so touching and educational that i'm seriously considering going to the philippines for christmas 2006. gotta start saving then.

sunday, i got out of the city and spent the whole day at my sister's condo in ventura. sun, steaks and shrek 2. need i say more?

and finally today, monday, i spent the day with my parents american-style (a.k.a, checking out the sales!). after a nice lunch we walked around valencia for hours window-shopping, and my mama bought me a nice pair of wedges. thanks ma! we had a surprise visit from my bro, his girlfriend and my sister's family later in the afternoon and we all had dinner together. fun times. the only things missing from such a family-oriented weekend was not turning on the karaoke machine or my having to play the piano for everyone's entertainment.

now, my mom and dad are watching tfc (the filipino channel). my mom and dad are laughing so loudly that i bet the neighbors can hear them from their bedrooms... with the windows closed.

it's great to see the fam having a ball. i will definitely miss this (family, friends and los angeles) when i go back to nice at the end of june. my sister's already feeling the pain as she asked me a number of times this evening to call mackenzie and tell him i'm not going back. (don't worry, baby, i'll be back on june 28 at 2:30pm) but this trip makes me realize that as much as i love los angeles, i like being in eu a lot too. and i'd be pretty disappointed to find out that my time there was up already. besides, who said that i had to pick one place to stay? there's nothing wrong with wanting both the states and eu to call home equally.

building bridges.

je pense que c'est mieux...

mon homme, originally uploaded by mjane.

family night

all the cousins hung out at everette's house for dinner and the dodger game friday night. best dodger game yet. milton bradley saves. apparently dodger stadium does $2 tuesdays. i'm like, "let's go!" but my bro says $2 tuesdays is more like $2 agro tuesdays as you're placed in what he calls "ghetto" pavillion where many fights have been taking place. maybe not such a good idea. but hey, go dodgers.

during dinner we played a game called black magic. i still don't get it.

i finally got to see melissa's baby girl, mila. she is so adorable. she is the third baby to bless our fam in the last three years. and as the mature cousins we are, we love using our baby nephew and nieces as our entertainment.

not feeling the black magic, originally uploaded by mjane.

eljay's so creative, originally uploaded by mjane.

elo can't get enough of her ipod shuffle, originally uploaded by mjane.

mila and mark, the godfather (look at her cute little toes!), originally uploaded by mjane.

mila, the amazing dancing baby: after dinner entertainment, originally uploaded by mjane.

bad uncle eljay, originally uploaded by mjane.

clocking in

saturday night with mills and mia at the office, originally uploaded by mjane.

right now, mia is settling into her bungalow in miami, steps away from the atlantic ocean, getting inspired. my eyes have been opened to a whole new world: artist residency programs. if you're an artist and are looking for a space to work on your next big project, these programs are a treasure indeed.

millie and mia are the best roommates i've ever had. we used to live off of manchester and airport, right behind a 7-11 and a block away from paco's tacos. the area was technically called westchester, but if you're familiar with the area, one could say that westchester is denial for inglewood. and talk about denial: our apartment complex was called the madrid; our next door neighbor was the dean of asian-am studies at lmu; lisa leslie's boyfriend lived right above our apartment. but there would be many days when no water would come out of the faucets for hours at a time; the pipes were always flooding the parking garage (full of fancy cars); and when we did get water, we'd have to run it for a few minutes just to get it from dark brown to clear. or what we thought was clear water. there were always reports of robberies throughout the complex. and our apartment got robbed one night days before our lease was up. we had a fourth roommate. she had a cat named scout who'd shit in her bathroom sink, kick her hair brushes in it, and then take the shit and smear it on her walls. sometimes scout would chill in her closet and piss on all of her clothes. i guess the poor kitty was trying to tell her something, but i don't think she got the message.

i've got some real estate here in my bag

zen, originally uploaded by mjane.

i've been in l.a. for a week, and i think it's a sign that i'm down with the flu. luckily my mom carries antibiotics in her purse. anyways, the sign being that i need to just go with the flow here. since i flew in, i've been a bit over-stimulated by nothing, everything, anything... i'm sleeping in this weekend.

allow me to be a bit pensive. i'm back home, yet i'm living out of my suitcase. i'm now about to put my suitcase in the car and sleep somewhere else for the third time. it doesn't matter though, because in the last ten years, i'm not sure that i've ever unpacked. beit l.a. or france. i dream of places to call my own, but i'm simultaneously content with not knowing where yet.

after the fixins meeting last night, i took the long way back to toluca lake and drove through the old neighborhood. there are new buildings on either side of 1306. the el pollo inca has sadly been replaced by the house of ribs. there's a cabo cantina or something sharky's-like next to q's now. and i don't know where i'm going with this.

you never knew

The originals, originally uploaded by mjane.

5 years ago, I got a job at this website called Antix.com. Before Dean, mentor-extraordinair, hired me, he sat me down in the middle of his office with two chairs facing each other. The chair I was sitting in was facing the wall on which hung a bus-shelter-sized poster of this blonde porn star in a bent-over pose wearing nothing but black patent-leather stiletto heels. Was she sucking on a lollipop, too? I don't remember... and I forget her name now... but at the time I thought that knowing a little info on her was the "trick" part of the interview. Luckily, I was familiar with her work and mentioned a couple tidbits nonchalantly, hoping that it would score me points with the company. Anyway, I interviewed with Dean, Mackenzie, and Jeff - they all took turns sitting in the chair facing me (Pat was out with a broken collar bone at the time). They were asking me all sorts of typical job-interview questions and as I answered them, in my head all I was thinking about was how impressive the porn star's tummy looked in the tucked position - you know, no flab, no rolls, nothing.

Anyway, I got the job. And long story short, or should I say, point being: Donny Miller, there are reasons why respected gossip columnists are hard to come by in the states, moreso in L.A. But you, my friend, have got the formula down. After all, it is your Universe. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get a holla for approving Ollie's hot selection for Mack's birthday surprise at the old office - who, by the way, also rode you and your associate, a generous impromptu gesture of appreciation from the birthday boy for lending your support. But, what's news to me is that you say that you couldn't get it up. Hey, don't get me wrong, Donny, it happens, man. C'est normale, as they say. But even a teeny tiny little "thank you" of any sort would've been cool.

It's all good, Donny. We can always count on you to keep the crowd laughing. Don't stop what you're doing. In my book, that's finesse.

Mac. Man, what a fucking piece of work. He's on my top ten most uptight people I've ever met in my life list., originally uploaded by mjane.

ground control

seeking: interim models in l.a. area for orientedgirl as face-of 05 holds it down a cote d'azur, originally uploaded by mjane.

jane's little body is screaming, "jet lag." yet, i haven't been able to do the sleep thing yet. oh how lovely it would be if i could just sleep straight through tonight.

fam from PI came in on saturday morning. and then the coincidences commence.

mark took me to the new active boardshop that opened in my parents' hood, my hometown, to check out the biz at some demo that chocolate was doing. and above mass craziness of crowds and cars on the ground, i see my boys one at a time going up and down in the air, comme flying, glowing beings. nice to see them skating, in all places, of all weekends, my first weekend back in good ol' santa clarita valley. even better, it was great to see everyone smiling. it's a belated greeting, but fuck y'all, vraiment, here's to an amazing 2005. smiling faces - it's been a long time since i've seen the homies' teeth shinin'. except for meza, who somehow always graces me with the presence of his pretty grill every time we see each other. i swear, aaron, you wear that smile like a tie.

it's all good.

i'm so tired. got a long way to go still, but i feel as if my time here is already slipping. for real though. in yellow submarine fashion, "it's time for time." and so it is. en autre mots, c'est chill... non angoisse... pas probleme... juste tout amour.

"who do you ride for?"
"chocolate."
"can you sign my shirt?"
(jane witnessing a moment b/ roberts and a fan) (too cute)

g.i., clark gable, gucci, louis vuitton... i love america

what an interesting time i'm having so far in l.a. first of all, i'm no good after 6pm - the jet-lag makes me a cranky, groggy little girl. second, the ghetto-sans-fab steez i wasn't feeling in france exists here too. (well, at least in santa clarita). i went to swim some laps today in my parents' hood. they live right next to saugus high school. on the street that the pool's at, there were a huge group of boys - some with skateboards, and others standing in the back of huge trucks. when i got to the pool two high school girls asked if they could use my phone. i said, sure. then i asked them if there was a fight about to go down. they said that it's the skaters against the ballers. that is very strange. but then again, i guess that's high school. then they said thanks for letting them use my phone. i said, it's all good. and before they took off, they asked me if i went to saugus high because they'd never seen me on campus.

i took it as a compliment.

after, i went to target with my mom. wow, so this is why america is so cool. i love target!!! i felt like a little kid. and then again, i felt like a consumer again. consuming is bad, esp for jane who doesn't know how to save money. i think i have an illness. like, if i had 2 dollars to my name and saw something at target that was 1.50, i'd buy it, even though it would then mean that i'd be broke and out on the street. ehhh, i'm just rambling now. it's the jet-lag talking.

anyway, after target, i went to whole foods. uuuhhhhhh, naked juices. i hugged the carrot juice, orange juice and green machine jugs as i brought them to the cash register. which reminds me...

my carrot/orange juice partner is back in france. holding it down for the team. i found some photos of mr. eisenhour on my mom's computer, so there. i'm done.

eisenhours & stratte-mcclures, originally uploaded by mjane.

who's reading this?

packing, originally uploaded by mjane.

mackenzie booked me a ticket to l.a. back in february to head out there from april 27 to june 27. where does the time go?

march is a complete blur...

april, i started my french classes. and fucking hell, it's now less than a week until i'm back home. holy shit.

in any case, i'm pretty sensitive to the whole situation - i'm talking, emotions times five. or a million, in some cases. meaning, i'm excited, stoked, ecstatic, jittery, loopy, etc. about the trip. it's been seven months since i've been around. whatch'all been up to?

. . . and there you have it.

side note: damn, christina! i wish i were in france while you're visiting in may.

well, i can't wait to kick it with everyone. i miss you guys on the real like crazy.

tres piquant

m.eisenhour: the face of orientedgirl 2005, originally uploaded by mjane.

mackenzie: likes to eat very slowly; he prefers beer with dinner; he loves hot sauce (the hotter the better) (i think he's training his tongue to handle hot sauce like my pops, tony i-like-it-hot san b); candles are a necessary accessory to his dining experience

jane: loves to eat meat; and when doing so, must have plenty of rice, potatoes, bread or pasta to accompany meat; is unable to share kitchen with others - she always cooks alone; prefers a glass of porto before dinner, red wine during, and an amaretto for digestif

blah blah blah

three coffees later..., originally uploaded by mjane.

photo was taken at a rest area on the way to the volcom eu office in marseilles. got to marseilles, and hmm... i don't think i'd ever live there. as soon as we stepped into the volcom office, it was like being in an orange county colony. except in french.

after, stopped off in toulon to see triple5soul france's fall line. sales rep kept describing fur-lined things as being, as i heard it, "zgi lo" and i didn't understand her. so i asked mackenzie ce quoi what sounds like zgi lo and he said, she's saying "j lo". oh...

and now, it's penalty kicks on the television - important for lyon, for france. gotta stop this entry now and see how it ends.

the dishes/taxes are done.

well here we are, originally uploaded by mjane.

these are some happy people right here. hey, it's sunday. and you know what, every day could really feel like a sunday. if you want it to.

right, positive... positive is good

today is my sister's birthday. that's truly a positive thing. she is a best friend like no other. when we were kids, i remember waking up in the middle of the night sometimes to her being up late when she was in high school. one night, she came into my room to borrow my crayola markers. i woke up, wanted to see what she was doing, and i spent the night watching her sketching her fashion designs on her bed. another night, while she was hanging out with her friends in her room, i came in attempting to be down and hang out and shit, she showed me her chippendales playing cards. i remember on a suit card there's some dude with gel'd up hair, posing on hay or something wearing nothing but chaps. hey, chippendales were huge back then. very popular, you know what i mean.

anyway, other than that, it's been hard to keep up the old blog. time has been moving a lot quicker ever since the time changed. i've been here for almost seven months, and i don't know, something's "hit" me, but i don't know what it is exactly. in any case, i've just gotta maintain positive vibes.

this is very hard to do at times. a lot of confusion. a lot of rebellion. a lot of resentment that not only will the 80s keep coming back, but that, seemingly so, a lot of people my age on the cote d'azur are the living, breathing 80s of 2005. i wonder if that possibly makes sense to anyone other me. did anyone ever watch prime-time soaps of back then? like knot's landing or falcon crest or dynasty or dallas? that's kind of where i'm going with all of that - or, at least, the effect it had on me.

okay, but for real, the positive... i started my french classes yesterday. my class is funny. so i'm laughing a lot. one girl is from ukraine, another girl is from russia, and another girl is from poland; then there is a chinese girl and a half chinese-half japanese girl, a girl from chile, a boy from ecuador, another boy from south america - but i forgot which country. and then there's jane, the american. it's an intermediate class so we're always speaking in french and it seems to go by quickly as there's a lot of info to learn each day. so now every day before i visit home that's what i'm up to until 2pm.

and then there's been this thing subconsciously hanging around in the air, like smoke sitting still in a very humid room. it feels very domestic. kind of along the lines of women with blenders and ironing boards and aprons and things like that. or how being a chipper, talkative female sales rep for triple5soul france is considered "femme fatale" down here in this part of the world. the term is clearly french - it's like how the rolling stones sold america better than your average american back in the day - anyway, ironic, right? or, it's just me.

homegirl's gear... it's positive. the sea looks gorgeous., originally uploaded by mjane.

monaco v. marseilles

so today was a nice surprise. mack and i went to monaco to hang with jules, and as we drove into monte carlo the announcement board read that the monaco/marseilles footbal match was tonight. we go to the stade to check out the prices, and we end up buying seats. stoked. without getting into it, the game was a big deal to both teams. the rivalry alone was a huge deal. so it was a lot of fun. monaco won. check the photos. needless to say, they're blurry as was my vision that night.

buying tickets, originally uploaded by mjane.

allez monaco, originally uploaded by mjane.

barthez kicks, originally uploaded by mjane.

roma & sugar daddy, originally uploaded by mjane.

the fans and fireworks (monaco scores again), originally uploaded by mjane.

hello big boys, originally uploaded by mjane.

gangsta cooking

the steez: g'd up oven mitts, low-ridin' jeans & faux-fur-lined minnetonka slipperz, originally uploaded by mjane.

the stance: lean'd back, originally uploaded by mjane.

g'd up dinner menu: broiled chicken wings and rice. g'd up method: stand on a stool to reach oven and flip them chicken wings until golden, greazy, and crispy.

the recipe***:

the kitchen, originally uploaded by mjane.

three friends
a wifey
one dead hippie
the birth of hot rod's sister
cote d'azur
and great style

***very, very spicy

cause & effect

the 3 kings of dreamland, originally uploaded by mjane.

julien and his girl laura from italy stayed in st. paul for the weekend. this is what happens after many bottles of red wine, lots of pizza, grey haze spliffs, drum-playing, a bottle of champagne, the simpsons complete fifth season, attempts at speaking italian, and beaucoup des "merdes" et "putains" from the spirit-filled boys.

zissou saves

l'affiche pour la vie aquatique, originally uploaded by mjane.

the life aquatic opened in france today. there's a different version of this poster i saw on the back of a bus a couple of days before the opening while i was in the car. i was so excited, i started screaming. and, of course, i found the movie to be so beautiful, i cried. amazing.

anyway, took some photos while we were in nice for our little premiere. enjoy.

the rialto... out of focus, like my vision that night, originally uploaded by mjane.

nice at night, originally uploaded by mjane.

sea-front benches: theater for the real life aquatic, originally uploaded by mjane.

l'hotel negresco, originally uploaded by mjane.

crainte et déteste à cote d'azur

for every day that i'm not learning french, i feel like i'm losing all that's left of what i already know. i've got five weeks to find another french teacher and get my ass fluent. after that, it's eight weeks of "tanglish" (tagalog & english) until i get back to the old country for all the french i can handle. once i get the handle come july, well my friend, then it is on... and up.

j'adore monte carlo

castellini & eisenhour near place du casino, originally uploaded by mjane.

people in the south of france can say what they want about monaco, but it will never change the feeling i have for the place. it was love at first sight when mackenzie introduced me to the principality in the summer of '01. and every time i come back to the cote d'azur, i'm in hot pursuit of getting sweet, beautiful monaco to love me back. well, today, it happened. while spending the day there with mackenzie and julian, i whispered "i love you" to its charming streets and deep blue waters. and by the time we were in the car on the way back to st. paul de vence, she finally said it back. now i'm hooked - and if cote d'azur is the place i'll be calling my second home in months to come, be sure of the fact that a spot in monaco is the first place i'll be working my ass off for in order to do so.

it's worth every penny earned and saved even if just to feel closer to my roots every time i walk along the port.

In 1988, when my grandfather passed
He left me a Monte Carlo and a large amount of cash
It was, bubble gum blue with the leather plush seats
And I just can't thank you enough for all the stuff that you done, G
See my grandmother told me take care of the ride
And always do your best to keep it clean inside
So I just past the go and get the candy paint
Leather white, outta sight, that made the girls faint
See my partner, Eric, he got stereos
And my partner, Steve got true and bolds
And my dog, Black got european fronts
And this nigga named Duke hook up all the humps
~ cutlass, monte carlo's, & regals, big tymers