the go to girl

WaMu NoMo'

gosh, first my Mac dies on me and now my bank? its a sad sad day. i REALLY luv WaMu! i found my way to this great establishment after filtering thru the banks o' plenty here in sunny Cal.  coming from Minnesota where service is stellar,  it took me some time to find a bank where customer's were #1.

"Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Washington Mutual Inc. was seized by government regulators and its branches and assets sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the biggest U.S. bank failure in history."

"WaMu became "unsound'' after customers withdrew $16.7 billion since Sept. 16, the Office of Thrift Supervision said yesterday. Branches are open today and depositors have full access to their accounts, Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., said. "

click here for entire article

WaMu Customers, Welcome to JPMorgan Chase!

well, i'm glad to hear a reputable company JPMorgan Chase has acquired my bank. i just hope they'll retain the value and personal commitment to customers that WaMu has. i'm actually gonna pop in today and get some scoop. what's going to happen to my local branch and the staff? i'm on it! tbc...

sad MAC :(

 

summer of 2007. FINALLY i got myself the gleaming white MacBook i'd been waiting for. i knew exactly what i wanted and held MAC in the highest esteem. i'd seen all the kookie commercials. been convinced by a graphic designin' friend or 2 or 3... and was completely hypnotized by its beauty alone. nothing could possibly ever go wrong with this little baby.

"would u like apple care?" nope don't need it, its a MAC. its invincible.

yeah, that was me. last summer.

and this is me just over a year later and warranty expired. hard drive FRIED! yep, brought it to Mac and brought it to a Mac specialist. totally FRIED. date unrecoverable. and the dude at the "genius bar" was far from compassionate. "sorry... they're kinda like bikes. could last you a year could last you 5. ya never know." are u F'ing kidding me? he was the icing on my devastation cake that day.

back it up? did i back it up? did u read the first paragraph? my MacBook was high on a pedestal. why would i have backed it up? my Mac would never let me down. obviously i knew nothing about the mechanics of computers.

okay, i must seem like the biggest dope EVER?! well, that's why i'm sharing my story. if there are any other dopes out there like me who confidently disregard backing up your Macs ... STOP THE MADNESS!

run, do not walk to the apple store or any old shop that sells external hard drives and back up your Mac!

yeah, the hard drive i guess is the only moving part inside the thing. its suspended and can jiggle around and get jacked up pretty quick. (i probably shouldn't have brought it to Ghana) ya know what? i wouldn't have brought it to Ghana if someone had shared this important piece of information with me! its a laptop, meant for mobility. that's what i thought anyhow?!

Mac should force u to purchase an extra hard drive. heck, they should give you one with purchase. they're so inexpensive in retrospect.

yep, my baby's getting a hard drive transplant as we speak and it cost me a measly $120 smakaroonies. but i've lost my pictures, music and memories. worth more than any price tag. i'm sad.

but i'll start a new and i will NEVER forget to BACK UP my Mac!

p.s. i'm still a big Mac fan. i luv em. and i can't wait to get my baby back!

summer of 2009. i'm gettin me an iMac + time capsule. hehe

CRAZY and i'm gonna stop

i've been inspired by the season to change up my blog and i'm workin' on it people. but, i gotta put a stop to it for the evening. before i pull out my hair. i'm sick of myself already. so indecisive, so many options. ARRGGHH

to be continued (in pre-development stage!) please pardon the MESS!

color therapy

okay, how brilliant is this? i'm HOOKED! another online obsession to screw around with when i need some creative therapy. thanks Melissa @ shipwrecked in paradise! p.s. i heart your blog!

click the screen and feed the fishies!!!

332 to go!

a follow up to my post earlier this month on charity: water... simply AMAZING!

GREEN clean!

i've spent some quality time in my bathroom today and i gotta shout about it! whoa, that doesn't sound right. let me explain. i'm a green girl and being eco in the bathroom is a MUST for me. in my house, we're big believers in the "if its yellow let it mellow" philosophy. and method's LIL' BOWL BLU keeps our bowl gleaming & fresh! i luv method products and they're really affordable. get em' at Target!

investing in eco/organic beauty has been a BIG focus for me this year. burt's bees, dr. bronner's and nature's gate organics are just a few of my basic bff's in personal care. but, finding an organic line for my hair has been almost impossible. there is so much out there in eco beauty but not so much for the cocoa girls. well, a great green lady, Miss Randi Ragan of Green Bliss ecospa, went on a hunt and found Kinky-Kurly for me.

its an all organic line of hair products especially for ethnic hair. organic ingredients like mango, mandarin orange, marshmallow root and lemon grass. paraben & sulfate free! its organic curl care! i ordered COME CLEAN & KNOT TODAY and i just got them in the mail this morning thru a beauty retailer on amazon.com. i heart amazon.com but thats another post. so, tested em' out and i think i'm a fan. my hair is tricky so we'll give it a go over the next couple weeks and i'll get back at ya with a follow-up report :) i can't wait to share with my cocoa Sistah Carlin :) we luv trading great beauty finds.

p.s. thanks Randi!

seven

let's never forget seven years from today the tragedy of 9 11. let's never forget the feelings, the thoughts, the sadness, the pain, the fear, the loss, the fog. let's never forget the dedication, the heroes, the respect, the love and humanity of the city and our nation.

i'm just wondering why it takes a devastation like this to unite our country?

how quickly we forget. today is a reminder. hope for CHANGE

charity: water

i stumbled upon an organization while catching up on all of my favorite websites this morning. its been a while since i've had time to do this. i was so deeply touched by the efforts of this organization and wanted to share just in time for their exciting live drill event in Ethiopia tomorrow!

it's amazing, since my return from Ghana, i can't tell you how many people i've come in contact with and/or discovered who's inspiration and ties go back to West Africa!

charity: water was started two years ago by a man inspired by a life altering trip to West Africa. what started out as a birthday wish has transpired into wells, water and hope for villages in Kenya, Ethiopia and beyond! see for yourself...

The September Campaign Trailer from charity: water on Vimeo.

happy 33rd birthday Scott Harrison! i can hardly find words to express the inspiration you've give to me today in discovering your mission. you are a GIFT! what a way to spend your birthday. celebrating your life to better our world. i ASPIRE to do such GOOD!

lucky girl

i had one of the best nights in forever last night. i broke out of retirement and put my dancin' shoes back on. p.s. i always dance bare foot. one of my mentors and favorite choreographers from back in my dancing days was in town so i braved the city traffic over to silver lake and got my butt in class. AMAZING! so good to move like that again even though i move at a much slower and unsteady pace these days. anyhow, i was grateful to be there and i loved every minute of it.

i was a dumb, dumb and meant to buy tickets to see bon iver many months ago. if u read my posts while traveling in Africa you'll remember how much their music means to me. it was truly the soundtrack to my trip. well, i didn't get tickets and the show at the Troubadour was sold out this week. so, i scurried on over there after class, sweaty and stinky on a mission to see what i could finagle. ticket box office was no help but the security guard told me to hang out on the sidewalk and see if anyone might offer up tickets. i've never done this before and was alone and totally out of my element. but i needed to see this show! not even 5 minutes passed and a guy ran over asking if anyone needed tickets. "i do, I do" with the geekiest grin on my face. $20 bucks later i was in!

oh, and it was some of the best $20 bucks i've spent. the show was mesmerizing. everything i knew it would be and more. eery and haunting and the driving bass and drum beats all insane. when "re: stacks" came on, best for last, i lost it. couldn't help thinking about my kiddies in Africa. the nights i spent looking at slideshows on my mac listening to bon iver. this was a night i'll never forget. it was too short, but oh SO GOOD!

thanks bon... u are a gift!

here are a few videos i found on YouTube but none do him justice

warDANCE!

i have been on hiatus for a while. its been tough adjusting back to life and work after my trip to Ghana. i just can't shake it. evaluating what i'm doing here, my purpose, my passions, my desire to go back. and when? when can i go back?

i just watched a brilliant documentary last night entitled WAR DANCE. the film was breathtaking. highlighting the lives of children of the Acholi Tribe who were displaced from their homes and families during the wars in northern UGANDA. abducted by rebels, forced to sometimes kill and flea to Patongo's refugee camp. thru music & dance these children are united. it is their life blood. watch the clip below and RENT or PURCHASE this movie. watch out for Dominic! u will fall in love. i did

i couldn't help but think about my experience at buduburam and the children i encountered. it was so easy to forget their struggles because their spirits were so bright.