Happy Almost New Year

1 Year in 40 seconds. This is how it's starting to feel in my life.


One year in 40 seconds from Eirik Solheim on Vimeo.

Some fine piktures of my holigay in Corpitos Buey:

Last Import

Happy Christmas!

Bowie et Crosby:



Not much to say today...family, friends, food, spirits. Can't ask for much more. Got to meet my first "niece" Ellie today. My old friend Laura had a baby almost 5 months ago and we got to meet her for the first time today. She is precious, and it just kind of blows my mind that this person came out of this other person who I grew up with. She's my second close friend to have a baby and I hope to be a part of her life as much as I can. Kinda makes me sad that I'm so far away in California, but maybe I can be the fun California aunt. I'm okay with that.

I must go continue to bake. Happy Christmas little friends!

Backin Olden Town

Well, I'm back in ye olde town of Corpus Christi, or as we like to say here, "Corpitos." I've been here since Friday and it feels really good. Very comfortable, like an old shoe, that's not too worm out but fits perfectly.

Got to see my brother's new house and it's pretty awesometown. So proud of him, he and my mother re-vamped the place and it's very comfortable and stylish, without losing masculinity or becoming to bachelor pad-like. No beer signs or Sports team posters. Big bro is growing up.

And so am I apparently. 28 feels...good. I'm living in California like I've always wanted to, I've got a great family, wonderful friends, and a kick ass dog named Paul Newman. Lots to be thankful for this holiday season. Sadly, I am a broke joker so Christmas coming from me this year is sparse. I feel really bad, but I'm also moved to let the ones who would normally be getting the gifts that I love them more than any gift could ever signify. I love buying things for people, especially things that I've searched for and I think that they really might like or enjoy. Not this year though. ;-) It's looking like a baked goods and burned cd's kind of year.

Here are some mug shot Santa's for you to enjoy. Promise will write more tomorrow, it's 4:30, and I should probably go to bed and attempt to get my "oh so screwed" sleep schedule back to somewhat normal.

Instant Karma's Gonna Get You

So I've been sick (still) which doesn't excuse me from posting, but I fear my head has been so foggy an already silly bordering on boring blog might have been even more pointless if I would have. So, I went and got some meds today and am feeling better, in combo with the merlot, so I'm going to write today what I wanted to write yesterday.

So yesterday marked the 28th anniversary of John Lennon's death. John Lennon, former Beatle, musician, poet, social activist and hero of mine and many others. His untimely death occurred 9 days before I was born, as you probably know at the hands of Mark David Chapman, outside of the Dakota Building, his residence in New York at the time.

As long as I can remember I've had a fascination and reverence for Mr. Lennon, partly because I loved the Beatles music, his voice, and his seeming rebellion against the popularity of the Beatles and his public image. There is a large part of my personality that has a problem with authority has always identified with his rebellious sensibilities. If you read interviews and watch the Dick Cavitt shows that John and Yoko frequented, you can really see that sharp cutting wit and smart-ass side of him that really appeals to me for some reason. Bob Dylan had it too, clearly displayed in the Don't Look Back Days, however his sarcasm and wit had too much of a self-involved tone, whereas John's was sprinkled with Brit charm and just enough self-deprecation to make it easier to identify with.

I used to think when I was a little girl, that when he died there on December 8th, 1980, 9 days before I was born that a little bit of Mr. Lennon's soul was floating around in some sort of nether world and ended up re-incarnating into little Laura Yonker. Of course I don't think that now, but it always makes me giggle because I truly did believe that for a while. I guess maybe I watched too much MTV or listened ot too much Plastic Ono Band as a 9 year old, so in that context, it makes more sense.

When it concerns John's social activism, I think the man was a genius. Make peace an advertising campaign. Speak to the people the way that they're used to being spoken to. By billboard, commercial, campaign. He likened he and Yoko's strategy to that of a politician's. Sell peace as if it's in a race against war. What is the opposing product? Those who do not want peace, those who are working to promote war. It's simple, and it may be silly to some, but I think in that day in age, it was a very forward-thinking strategy. A worthy strategy. One of the points that John touched on in an interview that I think is so poignant, maybe even more so now is the fact that people separate government from themselves, giving it patriarchal and differential qualities. We depend on government (the all-knowing father) to fix things, and then when things go wrong, spend time wondering why it's failed us. When the whole time we need to realize that we ARE the government, that we cannot depend on the government when things are going right and then wonder why things went wrong. I think I'm getting off on a tangent here, but just another reason why I have a deep respect and admiration for a one mister J. Lennon.

Here is a nice piece from the Dick Cavitt show, the first appearance of many that followed by John and Yoko after the Beatles decided to separate.



And another thing! I think that Yoko really got a bad wrap. I think that Yoko was a fairly interesting avant-garde artist in her own right before becoming Mrs. John Lennon. I feel that people were fast to scapegoat her when it came to the Beatles demise. However it happened, I don't feel that it is right to blame her as the sole factor in that outcome. I always sort of had that hunch about Yoko, and had the opportunity to see an art exhibit of hers at the San Francisco Modern with my parents back in 2002, where much of her art was participatory and accessible to everyone. I don't know what the art community's opinion was on the exhibit but I found it highly enjoyable, accessible, and positive. I commend Yoko for her efforts and respect her as an artist.

As a silly side note, my friend Sophie and I (I miss you terribly Sophie, by the way) made t-shirts in homage to Mrs. Ono last year. They proudly read "I heart Yoko," and were a product of a conversation Sophie and had in regards to our mutual respect for the Yoko as an artist. Sophie and I could see why John was attracted to her.

Here is another fun little vid from Mrs. Ono:


Yoko Ono: Onochord from Yoko Ono on Vimeo.

Oh Shit I'm a Butter Head...

I give to you, the Indian Nipple Song. Thanks Clayton.



First, let me say that. And now, moving on. I start work tomorrow! Hooray. I was beginning to get pretty restless. Unemployment isn't all it's wrapped up to be if you spend all of your time looking for jobs. Perhaps if my time off work were fully funded I could have enjoyed it more, but whatever, I'm just grateful to have a job. I am again, a waitress. I thought maybe I would never do this again, but here I am, and it's OK. It's going to be a much different experience than my last one as a server in a restaurant. This is a bit more upscale, and I make 4 times the hourly rate than I ever did in Texas. The people seem nice there, and it will be fun to have to learn more about food and wine. Ain't nothin' wrong wit dat! I will meet people, and I'll still have the flexibility to go on interviews during the day, which is good.

You can check it out here:
http://www.hillstone.com/#/restaurants/gulfstream/
I thought it was a good sign that the name of the place is Gulfstream, which also happens to be the name of me da's company. It's nice name, and I hope it's a nice place that gives me nice money. Isn't that nice?

I've been sick the last few days so I haven't written much. I'm having a spurt right now but I fear that it is due to the daytime cold meds that I'm partaking in. Cold meds weeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Nasa's Photo of the day for yous:



My Prison Bitch Name is apparently: Butt Slammer.

Cough Cough

I am sick. And lazy for to write lots of words today. And so I give you this. Now go eat your sausage. I'm going to take some Theraflu and I'm out.

Boom Goes the Endeavor!

So I went to lunch with a friend in Los Angeles yesterday and had quite the memorable omlet. My friend Ellie and I were sitting there enjoying some good conversation and breakfast when all of a sudden we heard the loudest BOOM! My hair blew a little bit back from a gust of air and the windows and the ground shook. Everyone at the little cafe http://www.kingsroadcafe.com/ just sat there in shock. No one said a word for about 10 seconds and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. My first assumption was that it was an earthquake. Never having been through one I have no idea what they feel and sound like. Everyone around us started commenting about the fact that it was NOT and earthquake but a sonic boom. What?!? A sonic boom? What the hell causes a sonic boom? I thought we were re-enacting a scene from Independence Day. My first thought when I saw it happen was, "Oh great, move to the big city and now L.A. gets bombed, great timing Laura."

Everyone around us quickly got on their phones to get to the bottom of what just happened. Slightly shaken, we continued our breakfast and slowly normalized after the big boom. Ellie and I said our goodbyes, and on the way home, I got a text from her that explained the situation. Apparently the space shuttle Endeavor had to make an emergency landing at the Edwards Air Force Base and the boom we heard and felt was the shuttle re-entering the atmosphere. Craziness. Apparently the weather in Florida at Cape Canaveral was stormy, so they decided to re-route the landing here.

Quite the rush of adrenaline for a Sunday afternoon.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/index.html