CED in PDX

It's official.

I'll be in Portland, OR from April 11- April 14.

Easter in PDX with great friends!

Do you have ideas about what I should do / see while I'm there?

Do you have a bicycle (48cm) for me to use while I'm there?

Holler atcha girl.

xoxo
Carla

Meet Go Go!

she's my baby and favorite companion
(second only to my '81 ladies schwinn back home)

thanks, marc!

xoxo

Food Not Lawns

read this book. I own it. you can borrow it.

I bought vegetable and herb seeds this week. planting next week. thrilling! I would love to have a seed swap this season. free seed sharing = ideal.

also: chickens would be great. fresh eggs every day. and they're kinda like pets. the yard is big enough... it's perfectly legal. and maybe bees? we'll see how far the landlord lets me go.

have you heard this prediction? it better happen. elected officials need to step it up as role models towards sustainable best practices in their daily lives - for the sake of everyone's daily life.

I firmly believe that many of society's problems are caused by our disconnect from food. food not lawns!

xo
'la

Drunk Bees

Sisters in the hive do not tolerate this type of lazy and selfish behavior.

Off with her legs!



xo
red light hive

smoke. choke. disease. death.

it's been a month since I quit smoking.

hooray for me!!!

it's really not that hard. all you have to do is not smoke.

I recommend my quitting method: overdosing on the nicotine gum, giving myself an aversion to the drug forever.

also, this super lame video has helped and I think it every time I see or smell cigarette smoke.

Chicka Boom Chick!

Yesterday I posted the jazz drum skillz of my great friend Austin (who was my first boyfriend ever in 8th grade - adorable).

Today I post the drumming of my best good friend Mike via TomTomTime.



I have much love for the percussionists in my life <3

xo
la la la

who needs a drummer?

homeboy is brilliant.

love you.

xo
lady

words that do not come from children's books

I love Ella, and this week I love this song. Strong and playful. Tough and flirty. So good!

xo
'la

Mixed Bizness

I recently went to the Lusty Lady for the first time. $1 a minute to see real live naked ladies dance around. That's what I like to call a "North Beach Night Cap." Mix business with pleasure.

xo
'la

new-to-me comic!

I love comics. I'm still very new to this one. it's challenging and the author is at times painfully self-deprecating, but it's well-done. enjoy.

xo
Carla

Best / Worst

Jesse,

Have I told you lately that I love you, and I love your FUCKING INTENSE blog?!?!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Keep it up, old friend. Miss you bunches every day! When I get rich I will fly to Brooklyn and we will party in style.

xoxo
'La

feel the joy in my chest

thanks for sharing, nick!

xoxo
carla

Sex and Candy

new blog added to the blogroll:

Sugar Daddy Blog

very interesting blog from a dating website for you if you are (or want to be):
a sugar daddy, sugar mama, or sugar baby

check it out!

xoxo
carla

Strange Dreams

I've been having very vivid dreams of late, and last night I had two that were especially unsettling.

In the first, I was the worst waitress on earth, completely neglecting my tables and I made no tips. This was probably in response to the fact that I'm totally broke and the serving gig I have now isn't cutting it. I had an interview elsewhere earlier this week. Let's hope for the best.

In the second dream I was sledding and playing in the snow with a close friend and a few other friends and dogs. We were near a library and a school - the area reminded me of the old Marvel Gym on Brown University's campus in my old neighborhood. My close friend was playing with two translucent color wheels, trying to match up the perfect color for me. I started singing Run to the Hills and at that moment he found the right color for me, and realized he cared very deeply for me.

so... that happened.

love,
carla

Providence People

Go to Local 121 tonight to see a documentary about the local food movement!

6:00 speakeasy doors open
6:30 optional dinner for $12 (made with local foods, silly goose!)
7:00 'Tableland' plays on the dope a/v system, discussion following

Tableland is a culinary expedition in search of the people, place and taste of North American small scale, sustainable food production. Director Chris Noble argues for the re-location of North American food systems and a return to fresher, healthier ways of feeding ourselves. From the orchards of British Columbia, the inner city gardens of Chicago to the Napa Highlands and everywhere in between, Tableland celebrates the successful production of tasty, local, and seasonal food from field to plate.

-PDD

Personally, I feel that a lot of unrest and displeasure in this society is caused by how we consume food instead of nourish ourselves. I lot of life change can happen when one begins to eat with (personal and global) mindfulness. When a lot of lives change, we get a community shift, and then a societal trend, no?

Forget having the status symbol of a pristine green lawn... Grow food in that plot of land and cook with the fruits of your labor!

Eat, drink, think local!

<3
Former Local 121 Employee

Best Idea Ever!

Lily and I are going to Mexico or Guatemala - for free!

there's only one catch...

hahahahahahah

xoxo
c

I <3 Yogurt!

Madzoon (yogurt) is one of my favorite foods on the planet. Being middle eastern means cooking with lots of yogurt - from appetizers, to the main course, to dessert!

I've never made my own yogurt before, but I'm going to start. It's cheaper and more environmentally friendly to make your own than to buy a big plastic tub of it every week at the market (if you eat as much as I do). Wish me luck in my experiment!

Yoghurt was first introduced to the United States by Armenian immigrants Sarkis and Rose Colombosian, who started "Colombo and Sons Creamery" in Andover, Massachusetts in 1929. Colombo Yogurt was originally delivered around New England in a horse-drawn wagon inscribed with the Armenian word "madzoon" which was later changed to "yogurt", the Turkish name of the product, as Turkish was the lingua franca between immigrants of the various Near Eastern ethnicities who were the main consumers at that time. Yoghurt's popularity in the United States was enhanced in the 1950s and 60's when it was presented as a health food. By the late 20th century yoghurt had become a common American food item and Colombo Yogurt was sold to General Mills in 1993.

-wikipedia

Yogurt is tasty and has medicinal uses. Use it to treat infections and an upset tummy. Always use plain yogurt with live and active cultures. Add your own flavors with fresh fruits, nuts, herbs, and spices. For a healthy snack I add uncooked oats or spelt flakes to yogurt with raisins, walnuts, and fruit preserves. So much better than ice cream! Keep the high fructose corn syrup and dyes out of your yogurt!

Love,
Shameless Yogurt Lover

Jesus <3s Fools

Yet another reason why I don't subscribe to organized religion, despite the importance it holds for my Armenian culture.

Participate by actively not participating in all foolishness.

Example.

Thanks to the PDD for the Armo video.

xoxo
Sarkis Diarbian
(aka Carla)

Maybe I want to love my dream that will never come true...

I'm here in Oakland living with Lily, Kiernan, and Gabriel. The weather is lovely, the hills are hilly, and the excitement is blossoming.

All I need is a job and I will feel a lot more calm. And for my boxes to get here from home (c'mon, mom!).

My neighborhood is called Lake Merritt and reminds me of Pawtucket, RI. There are a lot of working-class families in this residential neighborhood. Corner stores for lottery tickets and 40oz beers. Beware of Dog signs and frontyard vegetable gardens full of tomatoes and lettuces. Kids playing, palm trees, and the occassional street walker or drunk stumbling man. A nice balance of reality and fantastic California imagery. California isn't home, and I don't want it to be. I just want it to be the place where I live for now. Nothing trumps my real home.

Loneliness is a factor here, but as long as I stay busy and put energy into meeting high-quality lovely people, I'll be ok. My father calls me a Friend Magnet. I love friendship, and I live for friendship. (I miss you, Providence people!) Phone calls are very helpful. I am going to try very hard to make my phone calls on a regular basis. Call me, too. I need that. I feel that there is going to be a lot of sifting through of crappy people in this city. But I'll find the good ones.

:: disclaimer - I'm about to get all emo ::

I have also been missing the feeling of being in love for quite some time. I thought I had it, and it passed, then came back, then passed, then came back all of a sudden in the week before I left. I'm pretty sure it's a one-sided unrequited love. I'm pretty sure I'm being used and led on, but like the song says, "maybe I want to love my dream that will never come true."

Maybe it's easier to be hopeful and curious and obsessive about love than it is to actually put in the effort to be in a healthy relationship. I haven't been single for this long since before 8th grade. I'm freaking out. Somebody marry me, FAST! Then again, I don't think I've had feelings this strong in a loooong time. Well, good thing I just moved 3,000 miles away from the person I love. Perhaps this will give me perspective on why it's best not to love someone who can't commit. Or perhaps I should just accept that I want to elope and be a swinger.

In a nutshell:
I'm lonely and happy,
excited and exhausted,
sober and scared,
poor and imaginative.

Come visit me. It's beautiful here.

Love,
Carla

Too $exy for PA

Woman teaches dance classes.
People in charge hate on her sexy moves.
Read on...

“This is in every way a dance studio,” Mr. Walczak said. “The only reason they don’t want her here is the township commissioners just don’t like some of the dances she teaches."...even though the dance instruction did not involve nudity and there would be no audience, the dance styles were “provocative” and involved sexual “innuendo.”

I'm really getting pumped about moving to the Bay Area and working with places like BaySwan, SWOP, and St James.

xoxo
'Lita