Much Love Monday: August 22, 2011

Happy Monday to you! I'm back in New Zealand now, and I'm dreaming of my holiday I just spent overseas!
Which brings me to my first Monday favourite...

#1. WEST COAST, USA-
I was born and raised on the East Coast; however, I spent the rest of my life being a casual West Coaster. I have a continuous love affair with both sides of this great country. I like to think of myself as a hybrid east-westie. My mom always jokes that I was reincarnated from an old Philadelphia politician, but I'd miss the sunshine and glamour of LA/Vegas. It's true you know.
DAMN, IT FELT SO GOOD TO BE HOME in Vegas!

...where mostly everybody is no rush, and everything stays open late. It is dry, deathly hot, but the locals are like no others in the world.


#2. http://pinterest.com
I just learned about this site from Katie's blog Heart Shaped Cut Outs Of Cheese. :)
You can create a virtual pinboard of anything.

Check out my new page!
http://pinterest.com/jenvegas


#3. The amazing guest bloggers who updated my blog while I was away-

Cristina

and

My husband Chris

I had such a great time reading their posts! I want them to post for me regularly so I can see what they're up to. I am SO lucky to have such great friends and a sweet husband. I constantly want to absorb and consume all of the life that is within them. I was lucky enough to hang out with Cristina aka. Lady C while I was in Seattle. (More on that later) Lots more adventures to be had! The future is looking bright.

Much Love Monday: August 15, 2011

Hello, there! I am also not Jen Vegas. I'm Jen's husband Chris and, like the esteemed Cristina Friday last week, I’ve been given the privilege of hijacking Jen’s blog for a single Much Love Monday post. Jen is currently on the other side of the world, visiting friends and family back home in the US while I’ve remained here in Auckland, New Zealand, to hold the fort. Right now we're experiencing a freak cold snap here, with the first snow reported in Auckland in almost 80 years. Right now the New Zealand Twitterverse is engaged in an intense debate over whether it's actually snow or, in fact, just sleet. Crazy times...

I’ve heard from Jen a handful of times since she departed from Auckland Airport. It sounds like she’s having the time of her life catching up with those of you that she so rarely gets the opportunity to see. It was through the power of the internet that I learned this, so, fittingly, the first subject of my Much Love Monday post is...

The internet
I don’t think the internet gets enough props these days. I mean, just think of the rate at which we’re increasingly able to do unprecedentedly cool stuff. If you had told me even a few years ago that I’d be able to video call people from overseas for free, I’d have told you to srsly GTFO. Streaming TV on demand? Man, I remember downloading a two-minute punk song in around 40 minutes 10-odd years ago and thinking that was AMAZING.

In particular, I can appreciate what a vital lifeline the internet has become for someone like Jen - an expat American - to keep up with the world she left behind when she moved to New Zealand nearly three years ago.

Mostly, though, I love internet that is not New Zealand internet, as New Zealand internet is rather slow compared to what I’m sure many of you know and love. We also have rather Draconian “data caps”, which reduce our speeds to a slow crawl (worse than dial-up... seriously) once we’ve exceeded our pitiful allowances.

In these uncertain times, I’m even thinking of buying shares in the internet. Ironically, however, even Google (great site, by the way!) has been unable to advise on how to do so thus far.

Hot Water Music
Probably only a year or so ago, I’d resigned myself to the fact that I’d probably never get the chance to see my favourite band live. I was unable to attend the first time they came to New Zealand (I happened to live in the wrong island), and two years or so ago, they’d unofficially disbanded before making a return visit. But it was only a few months ago that Jen and I finally got the chance to see them play (with the esteemed Bouncing Souls, no less). It was an incredible and truly memorable show topped off with a riotous encore, with a mixture of members of both bands performing some of their most popular songs.

As a somewhat washed-up and jaded music journalist, I’m completely out of the loop with music happenings these days. So imagine my complete surprise only a matter of days ago when I learned that a new HWM e.p. (The Fire, The Steel, The Tread / Adds Up to Nothing) was available right then and there. As expected, I’m completely enamoured with it, and the only criticism I can level at it is that, at a mere two songs, it feels like the beginnings of a kick-ass new album... and then it just leaves you hanging. Still, it’s the first thing to come along in a long while to reinvigorate my currently dormant love affair with music (and certainly the first release from HWM in about seven years!). And the revelation of this e.p.’s existence brought with it the fact that the band is set to release a full-length early next year.

American fast food
I can’t tell you how much time I spent recently seriously trying to come up with a way that Jen could bring me back a grilled cheese sandwich from In ‘N Out when she returns to New Zealand. It makes me wish that, like Cristina Friday, I’d developed an interest in science, as I don’t think my “ice-pack and tea towel” method would quite cut it for the 12-odd-hour plane trip from LAX to Auckland. Also, like most other things here in New Zealand, Mexican food is ridiculously expensive and, obviously, not up to the standard that Americans enjoy. The list goes on, too. I’m super jealous of Jen right now, whom I hear has been making up for lost time ;)

I'm sure the cabin crew will let her store it in their fridge...

Jen
So I’m going to steal Cristina’s idea and make Jen my final topic for Much Love Monday.
Fun fact: the very first time that Jen ever wrote me on Myspace, I thought she was a spambot for a second or two, purely because it would be in keeping with 99% of the times beautiful girls had attempted to write me at random on the internet.

At the time of writing, Jen has been away from me for more than a week - the longest time we’ve spent apart in I don’t know how long - and I miss her terribly. She’s my best friend and my favourite person in the whole world - and I’m not even saying that to encourage her to attempt my grilled-cheese international importation method!

Anyways, Jen, I hope you're having an amazing time back home, and I can't wait to see you in about a week's time :)

Thanks for reading - the regular service will resume next week! Take care.

Chris

Much Love Monday: August 8, 2011

Hey Jen Vegas blog readers! Since Jen is currently galavanting around on her U.S. vacation, she’s asked for some guest posts while she’s away, and I am lucky enough to be one of those named lovelies! You can find my blog, which is in its embryonic stages, here: http://linguistina.wordpress.com/ Fair warning: I am a master procrastinator so there’s no telling when the first real entry will materialize, but I’m hoping that Jen’s request for guest posting will help spark my blogging flame.

So let’s get on with it. In true Jen Vegas fashion, cheers to Much Love Monday! Mondays are generally known for sucking the life force out of us mortals, so what better way to battle evil than with love, and MUCH love, no less!

We know who wins this battle.

Here are some of the loves I’d like to share on this glorious Monday.

• Science! - This stuff is for real. My academic background is in Anthropology, so social science owns the key to my heart (and brain), but science in its broadest concept is all about the discovery of knowledge. While I spent a good number of my early adult years sifting through books about culture, language, human evolution, & archaeology, I’m now venturing into the territories of the natural sciences in an effort to try and better understand the intricacies of the world, and universe, around us. My current love goes out to Carl Sagan and the book I’m presently reading, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, which strives to debunk pseudoscience by exploring the scientific explanations for humans’ ever so common delusions and invented reasonings. Sagan was all about advancing scientific literacy with the public, so his writing style is really accessible and entertaining. When I talk to people about his books, I often say it’s as if you’re just having a conversation with Carl, sitting around a campfire listening to him tell you stories about the universe. When I read his books I feel like I’m a bright-eyed kid getting told an exciting bedtime tale, all the while learning about the expanses of our natural world and the potential wonders that we can discover. His TV series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is on Netflix and Hulu, and I’d highly recommend delving into Sagan’s world if you’re at all interested in getting to know and befriending Science.

• ModCloth! - While I get a lot of my kicks by stuffing my nose in a book for hours on end, I’m still a sucker for a cute dress, and ModCloth is the place where I go to pine over vintage-inspired designs. Jen’s written about some of their items before, and I’m just adding to the praise. On my slow ascension to adulthood, I’ve started punctuating my wardrobe with quality pieces from ModCloth. What I love about ModCloth is that it is more of a community than just some online clothing store. They sustain a blog with varied topics, incorporate consumer input through their “Be The Buyer” program (which I often go to late at night when I’m in need of some fashion fun, picking certain items to be possibly listed on the site), and they have an involved social media presence. The perks are ever-flowing if you’re a part of the community, with exclusive access to sales and special listings. I’ve even joined their social street team “Mod Squad” which has its own community of patrons that communicate and exchange ideas about fashion and lifestyles and everything in between. I really like ModCloth because it’s a small business that provides access to lots of independent designers, and I love supporting smaller creative labels in a world where low-quality, mass-produced garments are so readily marketed. (Plus it helps that they’re based out of Pittsburgh, PA where my dad’s family is from and their love for dogs has spawned its own ModDogs facebook page where I go to get my cute canine fix!) Here are some of the adorable items I’ve purchased from them recently:

• Feminism! - Well, I’m one of those crazy extreme Las Vegas feminists that’s all about equality, hide your kids from the controversy! I get a good chunk of my feminist news from the blog Feministing, which provides feminist viewpoints on a combination of major headlines and stories that are less mainstream. As a young American, the present time in our country can be a weird and sometimes frightening one when it comes to social issues, and the Feministing community offers a welcoming space for learning about not only your rights, but the rights of those who may be different from you. A theme within the community is the weaving of the personal and the political, where one can communicate personal issues and experiences and their political implications. I’ve also just joined the Seattle Feminist Book Club and our book for this month is Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape, which is a book co-written by Jessica Valenti, one of the founders of Feministing. While I can’t say I agree with everything written on the Feministing site (and I don’t think anyone should), I feel that it’s a great place to learn and help develop my own opinions about social issues, especially those concerning me and my fellow humans. Oh and P.S. - If you haven’t heard, you don’t have to be a girl to be a feminist. All aboard the equality train!

• Jen! - Finally, Much Love goes out to Jen, the creator of this blog. Jenna Joy / jen egx / cray-j (just made that one up) / Mrs. E Leggett / the one and only Jen Vegas. Thanks Jen for inviting me into your blogspace, and thanks for being a lovely friend. I’ve been friends with Jen for at least 5 years now, and while my mind can’t exactly pinpoint why we actually started hanging out (it may have heavily revolved around watching/making fun of The Hills...), I can tell a story about how I came to know of the infamous Jen Vegas. This cool lady was the older sister of my high school friend Jesse. She was a chic dresser, listened to awesome music, and I vaguely remember being in awe of a conversation she had with her brother (said friend) about how she was going to play keyboard for the band they were starting. “Um, hi, can you be my big sister?” I thought to my teenage self. This girl had a reputation for being one of the most awesome people in our crazy town, and still lives up to that lively rep today. She’s an impeccable dancer with an infectious smile, interesting beyond compare, and a really sweet lady to boot. I have made so many wonderful memories with Jen, and I can’t wait for her and her man Chris to move to the states so we can make more memories!

Jen, the hardcore to my emo:

For much needed clarification, this was Halloween 2007, but also doubles as an accurate representation of our respective youths.

But really, I want to shout out to Jen and how awesome she is for letting me ramble away on her blog. Thanks!!

Much Love, Jen & Cristina!

Sin City

Sorry for the lack of updates, it's been so busy around here.

I'm leaving for my trip in about 3 hours! I'll be waking up in Vegas, and my brothers will be taking me to In N' Out (for that fancy grilled cheese!) effective immediately upon arrival. :)


I'll be hanging out in Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland over the next couple of weeks. Oh my goodness, I'm so excited! I daydream and wait every year to go home, but I'm going to miss my husband terribly. But I can't wait to see my family!

I have a few guest posts lined up. I'm so anxious and thrilled to see what my lovelies write! I'll try to update here and there. Hope you have a nice week.

xo
jv