I've Moved

I've started a new blog with some recent posts and it's at hanna-manna.blogspot.com. I won't be blogging anymore at The Flying Nun. We've had some good times but it's time for something new. See you over there!

Surprise friday

picture by StevenM_61's

I forgot how fun it is to do something unexpected and say "yes" to an idea. After searching fruitlessly for the right cafe in Newport Beach, I sat in traffic to hit up some favorite spots in Long Beach. I ate a bean taco, potato taco, and fish taco at Hole Mole. I sat outside and licked my fingers and spooned salsa into my mouth and watched people wash their cars across the street. Then I decided, hey, why not? and drove my car over after my meal to run around before the timer timed out, foam bursting out of my brush and hitting my face and shoulders. It was wet and fun and sweaty. Now I'm drinking a ginger peach iced tea at Portfolio, an artsy air conditioned spot in the Arts District. Life feels good. And that all happened for less than $10.

Book Review: A Year in Van Nuys

Every week, I meet with my new friend Joleen for a cup of coffee (sometimes a sample cup of Trader Joe's coffee) to discuss the all important questions of life direction, job search status, and ideas. We've been meeting for about 2 months and I have to say, we've hit our stride.

Yesterday, she suggested that I write a book about my life living in the OC and she gave enough compelling reasons that I decided to give it some serious thought and read this other book I had seen in the bookstore for ideas: A Year in Van Nuys by Sandra Tsing Loh.

I've come to admire Sandra's writing recently for its wit and humor and ability to make me laugh a lot. J. checked out A Year in Van Nuys from the library for me and I finished it in two sittings. And here is what I have to say about this book (published in 2001).

• It's really really really funny. I laughed a lot, especially in the beginning.
• I was surprised at how much I related to her experiences. (Do L.A. freelance writers really have that much in common?)
• She is so self-deprecating and revealing! How does she still have friends?
• The ending does totally peter out and only worth skimming as many Amazon.com reviewers write.
• It is a writer's writer kind of book. It's all about her writing life and how much it sucked that year.
• It almost made me want to quit all this freelance business and study for the LSATs and be happy having stable income.
• Most importantly, it was a case study on exactly what not to do if you want to be sane and happy and be a writer.

Here's what her painful stories reinforced:

1. Get a life and get out or you will end up stuck in your bedroom for 3 years with writer's block and loathing self-pity.
2. Read the Ennegram, Type 4. Learn how to deal with envy or it will destroy you.
3. Have a regular practice of taking yourself lightly, forgiving yourself, and working on loving others.
4. Have a regular practice of centering, whether that be prayer, photography, or something else.
5. Do anything constructive to regularly get out of your head and your own thoughts.
6. Be a contemplative.
7. Be kind and serve others.
8. Live fully in the moment.
9. Do Welcoming Prayer a lot.
10. And the list could keep going on.

I wouldn't use her book as a model for a book on living in the OC but overall, a quick enjoyable read. Some parts--her agony, her self-loathing, her moans--were a bit too negative and not funny enough to bear but all the other stuff, the parts when she really is spot on, hilarious, and you actually realize this is all useful info to help you avoid the same mistakes--well, that's nice.

For the complete opposite of Sandra Tsing Loh, check out The Happiness Project. This woman has a law degree and is writing a book about being happy.

Summer in the OC

God is blue by Sister Corita

This summer has been the summer of ideas. Left and right, up and down, ideas are churning and brimming up--I can barely think or talk fast enough. I was talking to my friend Lydia yesterday and after 4 ideas in a row she said, "Ok, whoa whoa whoa, wait, just give me a minute, let me think about this. Okay--which one can you see yourself doing more--Writing a book or blogging short posts?" Thank goodness for lovely friends who take my ideas seriously and then actually have practical questions to get me to think of how to do them.

I'm going to apply for this 9 month Ignatian prayer program.

I'm screenprinting with my artist friend Jan next week at her parent's screenprinting studio. We're going to make summer lino prints! We're inspired by Sister Corita Kent's works.

I'm going to get the darkest tan of my life by just laying out on the grass next to my building (a surprising number of people do this) or walking to the pool and getting fried in half the time. The sun here is hot, the wind is cool, and all of the above is plentiful.

And I'm going to read a lot. Case in point, next post.

New finds

Here are some new finds that I've been loving

Yellow Owl Workshop
I am especially in love with the city rubber stamps set


Blogger: Color Me Katie
a freelance photographer, street artist, all around creativity source
Via The Happiness Project


The Uniform Project
Makes me want to get a whole lot of accessories and one uniform

Cory Doctorow: Writing in the Age of Distraction
A good article about writing when the internet is soo distracting

On Blogging

These days, I feel as if I have outgrown my Flying Nun theme. I've been making little changes to my blog, having fun with my newfound html and free online tutorial lookup intelligence. But something's in the air. J. thinks it's because I'm no longer single, i.e. no longer a possible candidate for nunship. Maybe that is true. I think it's something else though.

When I first started blogging, the Flying Nun emblem gave me a sense of security, a metaphor to hide behind and safely write. I feel ready to expand my wings and actually let my head poke out and feel the wind now. In other words, I feel ready to gear my blogging towards a more public audience, instead of just family and friends (scratch that, i don't think any of my family members read this) and stand behind my name.

I think that working on launching my freelance writing career has a lot do with this, as well as a better understanding of the blogging world and the ways in which it can work for you (I like this summary at typepad).

I've been studying blogs to see what appeals to a larger readership (namely, nice photos) and I've also been brainstorming daily on what I would change and topics I would focus on. If you've been following my posts and you have ideas or suggestions, I would be happy to read them.

Kitchen Finds: Fine Mesh Strainer

Ever since I discovered quinoa and learned that you must rinse it to get a soapy chemical off of it (saponin), I've been rinsing it by just filling up a bowl of it with water and then holding a plate against the bowl and tipping the water out of it slowly until the water has been drained. aka Tedious.

So I've been on the lookout for a fine mesh strainer and I thought I found it when I saw this Oxo Good Grips 8-Inch Double Rod Strainer. But at $21.99, it was worth waiting for a better deal. I waited and waited and in the meantime checked every Chinese supermarket and Korean household store I went to for a similar item. The ones I found had flimsy mesh or weren't big enough but yesterday, finally--VICTORY!

At HMart in Irvine, I found a solid 8-inch double rod strainer with two prongs on the end, not just one, which provides better balance when resting it across the sink (which it does perfectly). The 8" size is perfect for rinsing handfuls of fruit and veggies. The mesh is small enough to rinse quinoa and it has a solid dome shape that has no signs of warping or stretching. Best of all, it is only $5.99! I'm not sure who else carries it but it's worth checking your local Korean supermarket. The strainer has a "Dong-Tai" imprint on it.