LINE IN THE SAND

 That's why I haven't been writing.

Guns 'n' Roses tonight, Slackline Yoga tomorrow, Motocross Saturday and Fencing on Sunday.

IȾ iϟ Ẇrittɇn.

PILLOW TALK

My boss called me up the other night and asked me if I wanted to write a report on some yacht race happening in Dubai. I get there half an hour late and next thing you know I'm being whipped by a massive entourage through the VIP entrance to a ritzy yacht - I kept all of them from enjoying the first 30 minutes of what followed; mini course after mini course of the kind of food that was clearly hidden from me all my life, that alongside unlimited Moet and Coronitas til sun down (DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THESE? CUTEST THINGS EVER!!!). And you can bet your bottom dollar I grabbed one of those designer SPF lotions fanned out on that silver platter at the entrance. Typical freelancer behaviour.

What my boss failed to mention was that I was covering the Louis Vuitton Trophy and that I was going to get on board one of the vessels to race as the 18th man. Didn't happen, though, due to crappy winds and major race delays. Not that I minded, obviously! But I could've gotten many more flutes down the chute if I wasn't so busy being a professional journalist (and the only one not carrying any LV anywhere on their person) preparing to compete on the high seas - aka painfully sober.

Still, a great day had. Even better, after declining a ride home because no one knew that I had travelled all the way from another Emirate aboard a public bus for two hours to get there, I arrived home to find lovely noises in my kitchen - COOKING! The Fox had a whole feast in the works. AND it was carb free (yeah, this again...). I love him, oh I do, I do! The only problem is he made a big egg breakfast again for me this morning even though it was his first day back to work from vacay (and no carbs in there either) so it means I've got to come up with something extra special in the next few hours.

Oh, to hell with it. I'll let the pillow do the talking.

IȾ iϟ Ẇrittɇn.

LARKS IN THE GARDEN

Me after crying for centuries.

How was your weekend? Unfortunately I had to dump my boyfriend AND kick him out of my apartment before he decided to come back at me with any regretful, loved up words (or his penis). And then I got dressed the fuck up in an "Alexis Mabille" dress and danced myself skinnier and far far happier. So now everything is fine. For now.

Me, Alexis Mabille's spirit and my sister (guess how old she is!)

I have to say...the one good thing about a rocky relationship when you're a writer is all the stories it produces. Wrote a great deal this morning.

And now some music. This song always relaxes me, and helps me make believe I am alone on Spanish cobbled streets:

IȾ iϟ Ẇrittɇn.

TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, BUT YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT

When I'm having a night out and plan to get beyond fucked with my bad self, certain songs put me in the right frame of mind to get where I'm going ('destination inebriation', if you will). Last night was one such night, and oh was it good...and long overdue. While drinking a beer in the shower and trying to decide what colour face paint to smear across my eyes, this was one of the tracks blaring in the background...

Can't quite place why this old Cradle favourite makes me feel sexy, empowered and a better dresser, but it does. HOT!

Damn...ironically just got a call from Nat and Chass to head out again tonight. This is not going to make traithlon training any easier tomorrow.

EIGHT DAYS A WEEK

LAST NIGHT! WOW! Like..what did you get up to? Anyways this is me stirring this afternoon.

I've really taken to cat ears since not being able to get over how cute Jessica Stam looks in that one Nina Ricci perfume ad?

So it's going to be part of my 'signature' accessories collection this year (fuck, I'm seriously turning into an anime character)

MUMMYYYY!!!! I know a lot of people go partying at some club with friends and make out with strangers in plaid shirts while sloshing Pabst/Red Stripe all over everyone for their NYEs but I honestly prefer being with my fam for it (well, this time the bro and sis hit up that Rihanna concert, which I heard was a snore). We used to throw the biggest parties back home on our lawn for hundreds of people and wear fancy dresses and drink champagne and light fireworks - I miss that...


DRUNKENNESS!!! It's so nice to see her happy again because her mother died on Boxing Day and I've been nursing her and trying to make her laugh with back to back Little Britain (Rest In Peace, Mama - we love you)


Outfit deets...(and speaking of...one of my bloggerly NY resolutions is to post more of what I wear because I've always been intimidated by that since there are so many straight fashion bloggers out there doing stellar jobs already. I don't like to think of this blog as strictly fashion but I do think it would make it more homey and personal if you saw more of me, yeah? I'll try.)


My dress cost 25. American. cents. at. this. gay. people's. yard. sale. and. my. mother. doesn't. want. you. to. know. that. but. what. kind. of. blogger. would. I. be. if. I. didn't. share. that. wackness?

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND ALL THE BEST WITH YOUR RESOLUTIONS! About to go write in my new journal, discuss business plans, eat leftover salmon and re-play last night. Love you all.

PS. Apologies to anyone who was offended by the 'thinspo' reference in my last post, but honestly I'm not in the blogosphere to support/mock/help any anorexics/bulimics (I was pro-ana AND ana myself back in the day and I know that trying to help someone who doesn't want to be helped is useless so do what you like, I don't care). What I really want to say, in the nicest way possible, is that in my personal space, I say it like it is and those photos were honestly inspiration for me to maintain skinny-ness. But...for what it's worth, ANOREXIA/BULIMIA IS BAD!

SHAKE APPEAL

I don't fucking know why this always happens to my 14 year old sister (and I wish she would stop!) but before getting a knock on the door yesterday afternoon (2 hours before showtime), my sister was pining over the fact that she didn't get a ticket for The Killers playing at Emirates Palace last night. Yet all she had to do was be home to answer that door because when she did, it was the demure Filipina living opposite us giving away a free ticket they received and didn't plan to use. THEN when she got there and had the best time (she described the show as 'Coldplay amazing'), her friend dropped 2 tickets to this in her lap, which my brother and I were about to buy tickets for the very next day. So now, we're spending the day busting our asses to buy her a ticket out of gratitude. I'm also working from home today (doing a week's worth of freelance work with a new mag here in the UAE), so I thought I would take a minute to post something (or re-post something I wrote and LOVED for Bitching and Junkfood...and which I think matches well with the rave-type event I'll be attending this weekend, thanks to my hooked up sis.


...that being THE MOTHERFUCKING HAIR in this Testino shoot for November's UK Vogue! I'm on it.

And for those who asked, my grandmother isn't getting better (and she won't) but she is still alive and coping. Thanks for your concern.

BLAME IT ON THE A-A-A...

Fuck it. Love you fuckers.
But I'll be back. Gone drinking, dancing and sexing at Etoile.

OF LILIES AND REMAINS

Okay, that wasn't such a long hiatus after all. I MIGHT do a couple more posts tonight since I'm all amped after 40 minutes on the treadmill, self-help reading material and coca cola (yes, my boyfriend and I broke up). But here are links to all the other posts I've written elsewhere that got published today:

Two over at Kill City (one on that ring!!) and my first proper Bitching and Junkfood post on the Where the Wild Things Are opening reception for the Pop-Up shop they opened at Space 15 Twenty last month in LA. I've owed you pictures from that for ages. Next up, the Kill City X Brian Lichtenberg collab party (with an added bonus!), so stay tuned.

P.S. I don't know why my KC posts' layouts are so shit- was having major probs trying to fix those; and my first post was supposed to go second and vice versa, duh (not my fault).

XXXX

WAH Magazine did a travel directory on where to be seen around Los Angeles and it's on the mark, except for a couple of places I'd like to add.

Space 15 Twenty is a must. There's always something going on there that you have to be a part of. I was probably there more than 4 times in my last month visiting, whether it was for a monstrous, leaking vegetarian burger and sweet potato fries at their snack bar, or for an opening reception for whatever hip viral shit that's coming out soon (Where the Wild Things Are - oh and I finally got those pictures! Watch this space!), or for an open air 80's movie (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) intact with pirate-sounding bums thoroughly enjoying every minute of their film experience, or just for shopping my life away at the massive Urban Outfitters and surrounding uber shops. With that said, if you call yourself an arty-farty scenester-cum-leather-jacket-wearing, non-metal/punk-listening kid, then haunt this space or leave LA!

And secondly, for my sick fuckers around the world, Necromance. By far, the best thing I came away from LA with (apart from my relationship with Panda, which seems to dismantle every time I visit) were those winding earrings you saw me wearing on The Cobrasnake. They're actually snakes, and that's probably one of the least creepy things you'll find at Necromance. They've got 2 stores really, neighbouring each other on Melrose Ave. One, a bone collector's heaven on earth (also where you'll find all manner of taxidermied cretin, shell and beading), the other, catering more to jewelry, accessories, macabre home decor and medical quirks. Here are some shots I begged for of the second store.





Hop to it!
GAHHH, literally just got called for an interview for a 3-day writing course that I might teach that my over-ambitious mother name-dropped me for because she couldn't take it herself (WENCH!!!...that I love). They want me to come in in about 2 hours. Course starts tomorrow. I die, and such.

A WHOLE LOT MORE THAN A PARTY

It's been a crazy weekend; like so crazy, I am trying to recall what I did Friday and it's completely vanished from my mind. But Saturday, I went traipsing up and down Los Angeles because I went to check out a dungeon in North Hollywood for my article research, and it turned out Jay Wiseman was there teaching a really cool class in Tight Immobilizing Bondage. He is like THE go-to guy when it comes to BDSM 101. He's written a myriad of key BDSM references including SM101 and The Loving Dominant, and I've reviewed the latter (dude's got all that kinky shit down to a science). So it was an insightful workshop for a master rigger wannabe like myself.

After that we went to Fetish Nation at Circus, which was pretty neat. I suppose it would be the LA equivalent of Torture Garden or Subversion in London. To sum up, pretty interesting performances and pretty extravagant garb, but pretty exorbitantly priced drinks. One of the girls being spanked over a domina's knees had my f-hole tattoos on her back. Mine are way better though.

Then Sunday, the boyf and I met up with Dulce, our Italian friend who is now here for a coulple years studying whatever she feels like because she has nothing better to do. We went to Bossa Nova for some pretty decent, filling Brazilian food and racked up an $80+ bill among the 3 of us. I would recommend it despite that though because service was toppa top, the sangria hit the spot, the portions were so huge as to provide you with meals the following day (about to eat some for dinner), and sitting outside chilling with good people on an easy Sunday evening is just the ticket sometimes.

Then today was just mad emailing and liaising trying to make sure that every minute of this week keeps me huffing and puffing until the end of the day. Craziness. Most of the shit happening this week is for the article or for friends I need to see before October 2nd when I fly out, but this?
I'll be going to for fun.

I LIKE NIGHTMARES

Replace this girl's face with Tasha Tilberg's and I'm exploding all over again in my cutoffs. This girl in Melbourne who's obsessed with Latex fashion, heels, corsets et al started following me on Twitter for some reason and she runs a really good blog ram-packed with latex-fueled imagery. Lookie...

Speaking of...tomorrow I'm attending a kinky photo shoot put on by Severe Society Films, then a fashion show where Venus_Prototype will be unveiling their new fashion latex creations. Stoked dot com.

ALWAYS SEARCHING FOR THE THRILL OF IT

Glad I caught this on Jen's page because I was about to head upstairs and ravage my man...or something, then step out for the evening. I guess I'll catch the bus into town and check this out as Panda says he's planting himself on the sofa tomorrow for some football game (ew?) so he won't be able to drive me.

I'm trying to figure out Twitter. All that @-ing at someone. It looks like foul language. Twitter looks a mess.

Anyways, we're on the list for a pervy party tonight. Checking out The Batcave LA too, hopefully.

I'm in a really good mood after healthy, minimal eating, laps in the pool and tennis. Here, have a song.

REVENGE IS SWEET

Some sick boots from a random footwear site I stumbled upon. I'm back meddling in the pervy world and working on a big piece for Skin Two while out here (to the chagrin of my mother who called yesterday to tell me I got 1st class honours). Hooray and anyway, this is my first real decently paid freelance gig. Hopefully once this pulls through, I'll have enough money to go to the Philippines in February for my friend's wedding, and for a mini break from a dry existence back home in Abu Dhabi. I have about a month left out here, which I may need to extend, depending on this article.

Going to a gig tonight for a girl whose music video Panda has offered to produce and direct and may check my friend's acoustic set tonight at some place in Little Tokyo.

In other news, after a night at The Standard Hotel partying pooltop for my friend's birthday, I realised that when I get really drunk, usually, what happens is, a really really big ass sits on my life and shits piles all over it. So the mission is to stay relatively sober for the rest of my stay here so Panda doesn't sprout anymore greys. So I won't be buying. But if you'd like to sponsor me...

ARE YOU MY FAMILY? CAN I STAY WITH YOU A WHILE?

I have some cool people to tell you about.

So Panda, his house mate F and I went to that 'Cage The Animals' event I posted about at Studio 1444 and had the best time; hands down my best day so far since I've been in LA...minus the last couple grossly inebriated hours of the night (all you can drink beer for $10 at an all day event? no wonder shit got crazy. I turned 8 years old).

When we arrived at 4, it was already under way and this band Cheetahsaurus was on. F had been telling me how good they were and that we shouldn't miss their set. I think they're awesome but the space didn't do their sound any justice. Studio 1444 is a photography studio normally.


OH! This was awesome! Sunny weather usually summons the ice cream trucks but CoolHaus is more than your average. Cookies! ANNNDD everything they give you is edible.

Even the wrapper. And they'll do some mad edible ink advertising for you on them if you want. And I'll eat it for you. Anyways, green tea flavoured anything is my ab favourite these days so I was squealing all over myself when I saw that green tea ice cream was available. And between oatmeal cookies? Yessss!

So check out CoolHaus.
There were little stalls outside selling cute vintage goods/feather creations/food/drink/whatev, that I'd haunt in between sets.
These guys were my fav. They somehow made magic in that awful space and sounded like a really good dream! They're called Intricate Machines. Listen to their song 'What Flood'.


And Avi Buffalo was cute too.


Of course I got my face painted.
And then I just really liked this photo's... 'being' (the one above this paragraph, and below). Panda is a good photographer. He'll probably be the source of most everything I post up here around LA because he's really good and I'm really lazy. We were thinking of challenging Rumi from Fashion Toast and her BF who takes all her amazing photos to a fashion&foto-off but I'm so fucking lazy and hate 80% of the photos taken of me because 85% of the time I think I'm ugly (wah wah wah, I know).

He always documents my drunkapades. The fucker. There's a video too of this and he's talkin to me while I'm trying to calmly go about passing out.