UNA FAMILIA DE LOS GATOS

For Halloween, we put on cat headbands and went to a lecture about the benefits of fasting(And there are A LOT). I love our little family.

DAV PILKEY AT AMLA

From Drop Everything & Read Pajama Days to raffling book prizes...our school really does a outstanding job enriching students with the LOVE of reading.  I literally have to ask students to put books away while walking in line and during math time because they are all obsessed about them. It's a beautiful thing.

Somehow our school was able to get Dav Pilkey, author of The Captain Underpants series to come for an authors visit.  We were the only school in California that he chose.  He gave each student a copy of his new book Dogman as well as reading capes.

His presentation was awesome.  He talked about his childhood, his success and failures, and shared his creative process. He shared about having ADHD and how he was one of those students who never fit into the classroom structure.  This made me think about all of my students who have a hard time in class and how I can best make our classroom a place where they can thrive and be empowered as well.

He drew out his characters in front of the students and gave the posters away as prizes!

I wanted one too.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

Another checklist item for Andrew's classes was visiting the Natural History Museum.  It reminded me of the Natural History Museum in New York and I was pleasantly surprised!

My favorite exhibit was Gems and Minerals.  The huge room had walls and tables full of precious stones from all around the world. STUNNING.

Afterwards we ate at Revolutionario North African Taco.  This hole in the wall looks modest, but the food here is extraordinary!

Best part was dressing your tacos with pickled veggies and sauce on sauce on sauce.

DANNY BROWN AT THE FONDA

Danny Brown is one of Andrew's favorite rappers.  I honestly didn't get into his music at first, but after seeing his live performance, I am a FAN.  At first his voice threw me off a bit, but it grows on you.  An he really does have a much wider range and his delivery is so FAST.  He's just a phenomenal performer.

The crowd started moshing, and we were like "We'll stay up here in the balcony"

Here's a track featuring Kendrick Lamar and Ab Soul.

ANNIVERSARY

Here's to 10 years of the warmest of friendships, along with the best year a girl could possibly ask for. I love you, Andrew.

2006

At some classy party, I guess.

2007

Beach camping trip with TR.

2008

Before our adaptation performance of An Infinite Ache in Santa Barbara.

2009

Graduation in Berkeley

2010

Pretending to drink in Las Vegas.

2011

Our first time exploring together in Los Angeles.

2012

Actually, there are no pictures from this year.

But here's another classy one from college.

2013

Skyping with the Tuna Melts in Korea.

2014

Together again with the gang in Los Angeles.

2015

Desert Spirit Walk in Arizona.

2016

Above the clouds in Hawaii.

LACMA

Pieces of of the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art. (Name that Artist)

MISHIMA: A Story in Four Chapters

Dark and crappy picture of Andrew and I meeting Paul Schrader.  We had just finished watching a screening of Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, which Schrader wrote and directed.   Paul Schrader is more known for his work on Taxi Driver.

The film itself is a dark master piece based on the life and work of Japanese writer Yukio Mashima. It interweaves episodes from Mishima's life and dramatizations of segments from his books/plays.  With a film score by Philip Glass, this film is hauntingly beautiful.