Diary of a Juera: Palenque.

My nerves woke me up yesterday, first at 4am, then again at 6:30, my alarm being set for 6:33am. Maybe it was because I was about to embark on a six hour bus ride, or maybe I thought my alarm would fail and I would miss my bus. I arrived at the bus terminal and realized that day light savings time had kicked in, and was an hour early (that has NEVER happened, ask Stella). I beat my abuelita to the terminal, so I waited for her to set up and then enjoied some of her arroz con leche - which always cures a cold morning.

Nothin like enjoying the Mexian country side while the other passengers watch "Bambi II" (en español) followed by "Because of Us" starring Dianne Keaton and Mandy Moore (also en español). Obviously two classics.

I arrived to Palenque at 1pm and had the opposite experience than my arrival to San Cristobal - its fuckin hot! Palenque is a small town that exists only for tourists who venture the ruins, and it shows. El Centro de Palenque looks like an LA sound stage. I felt instantly uneasy. This tension intensified when I reached my room.

Ulitmatley, I checked out the ruins and bought a bus ticket for 11pm back to San Cristobal. Now I sit here, the rain outside, and Im am just happy to be out of the fucking jungle.

Palenque is a town where geckos, or lizards, or whatever, live strong. You know, the cold blooded thing that people got tattoes of in the 1990´s? I feel much better sitting in San Cristobal, where people listen to the Mexican version of the Titanic song.

Conclustion: light weight divas do not belong in the jungle. 86 Palenque forever!

Diary of a Juera.

I have now been in Oaxaca for two days and two nights. The buildinds here are short and colorful, and their facades range from stone to brick, and well-manicured to crumbling. Oaxaca reminds me of Kyoto - a town in a country that provides ample heritage and culture for its native residents.

I am staying south-west of the Zòcalo, which is like the underbelly of the city. This is the Mission Street of the Mission district, the Ikebukuro of Tokyo; it is where the people, la gente, of the city resides and does business. I ventured into the Mercado 20 de Noviembre where the vendors tried getting my attention by yelling "¡Juera!"***  I wasn´t sure if I should be freaked out or if they were simply just trying to get my attention. So I settled on both.

Oaxaca redefines what street food is. Nothing costs over twenty pesos and the flavors are insane. I just finished scarffing down a tamale, huge, and stuffed full with quesilla, pickled jalepeños, and flores de calabaza. That is, a string-like salty cheese and squash blossoms. Gracìas abuela.

In a couple hours I will depart on a twelve hour bus ride to San Cristobal. I made sure it was only a one way ticket because I might have to fly back -  twelve hours people, twelve.

Until then, later putas. 


***JUERA ***
A White girl, especially a blonde-white-girl. Specifically an American.

Here I go..

In about 3.5 hours I leave on a jet plane to Mexico City, then I change planes and head to Oaxaca. I shall be in Southern Mexico for three weeks. I promise to return with ample documentation, and for those close to me, tequila.

Rainin Game in Northern California.

Today had an eerie aura. Storm clouds filled the sky producing different heights, textures, and shades of white, grey and beige, a motif SF clouds don't normally carry. At three in the afternoon it began to pour - sneak attack rainstorm!!!

Of course the infrastructure in this city totally collapes. Watch the clip below - MUNI had to shut down their subway service until the rain stopped, due to excessive flooding.

Crying tears of fashion.

Animal Print

I've always been a fan. Here are a couple things to look at:

Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony

Vogue Nippon x COMME des GARCONS

Journal Standard

Not technically animal, but sneaker game is laggin.

Culture Feedbox: A Series.

1. Everything Kanye seems to be getting the ax.

 The Yeezy clothing line Pastelle changed its name once to Past Tell, and has now changed again to simply: 86'd. Supposedly, Kanye will release a clothing line under the name Kanye, but until then, we all must wallow in the world that is Post-Yeezy, or should i say, void of Yeezy.

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2. N.E.R.D copies Blake Eyed Peas

A Chick will be joining the line-up. Not a bad route, if it wasn't done already. Hopefully Pharell will choose a better tranny than Will.i.Am. Now we can all wait to see the new and improved N.E.R.D.  in ad's for Best Buy and Target.

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3. Obama comes to the Yay Area!

Chaching! He'll be visiting his liberal cash cow and shutting it down! I'm sure downtown will literally be shut down while in the Sco. He'll be hosting a fundraiser at the St. Francis on Thursday. Sure to be a shit show.

Some websites to consider.

StreetEttiquite

Just found this website (with the help of Giant Mag), and DAMN, these dudes got some flava. These Bronx natives have decided to provide the Buroughes with classy yet urban recommendations for street style.

GreenJar

This chick is kinda takin my thunder, but it's all good. She's bringin the ECO to the streets, and bridges the gap between urban culture and environmental concerns with her Green-networking website: GreenJar. She has also acted as an environmental consultant for Ralph Lauren and Island Def Jam Records, however, I have no idea what that job entails. I'm sure artists on Def Jam are still rollin in SUV's sittin on 22's and have refrigerators full of bottled water and single-serving mac-and-cheese.

The Original: A Series.

Ann Peebles, "I Can't Stand the Rain"

Missy Elliot, "I Can't Stand the Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)"

One week...

Does Hello Kitty Kill Too?

Lady Gaga models for the HK Anniversary.

Its hard out there.

Dang. There is no excuse for two grown women to fight. Come on ladies, female empowerment!! This fight has been poppin up all over the net, and I finally watched it, only to discover that this happened on a MUNI bus! Living in SF, who hasn't seen a MUNI fight?

Transit Woes: Muni Edition.

This just in: Muni makes wack upgrade to hide the fact that it is quickly becoming outdated! 

MUNI officials announced that they will outfit the nine train stations with beautiful new moniters which will provide passengers with train arrival times.  These monitors will have a more visuals of the train map, and also provide a more accurate prediction of train location, since trains cannot be monitored by GPS when underground.

Looking at the picture above, I can't shake the feeling of embarassment. First let me state that I am a big fan of MUNI, an advocate even, but there is no reason to praise such a pathetic advance. When compared to the web of transit in Tokyo, MUNI is like the frail and fragile little sibling. At this point, other systems in the world are more advance, more intricate, and more punctual.

Above is the Japan Rail map of Tokyo. These trains are extremly punctual, so much so, that people have to rush in and out because the train is on a schedule and isn't shy about leaving you behind. This actually forces people to be puntual as well, as you will see people running through the stations trying to make their train or appointment. The effectiveness of the transit in Tokyo has actually forced an entire mega-region to be on time. MUNI has the opposite effect - no matter how early you leave your house, if there is a crack head on that bus - you're gonna be late.

Below is an example of the monitors on the Japan Rail trains. There are about eight of these on each train, one above each door (there are about 8 doors on a train, four on each side). The boxes represent the different stations, the names of which located right below. The numbers within the box are strict estimates of the minutes until the train reaches that station.

Having grown up in San Francisco, I began riding MUNI in adolescence, and have yet to see an advancement that would bring the system to the same operating level as the Japan Rail. It would have been nice to see MUNI grow and mature along with me.

Gold and Laundry

So in my free time, I have decided to tap back into my artistic side. Redunkulous.

Another moment in time.

**Flashback**

It is November, 2006. It's Friday, and I'm chillin. I have to be at work at four, and I decide to make an Amoeba run. I find the LP I"m looking for, a cute boy rings me up at the register and we talk music, blahblahblah. I jump on my bike, I'm coastinnn..... until I stop. cRaSh. SpLaT. sMeAr. TATTOO.

I lift my head, and see the small but significant rouge waterfall spewing past my eyes. Yup, my face was gushing. Someone had the audacity to ask "OMG are you OK?" I know that is the universal phrase of concern, but really? My fucking face is gushing with blood bitch, no, no I'm not OK. Ten hours and 37 stitches to the face later, I still wasn't OK. And I wasn't OK for about a year, until my face healed.

And now I sit here, on my fucking couch, again. Another bike accident in the books.

The awkward thing about bike accidents, is that there is not protocol, or code of conduct for them. We don't have the protection like insurance for auto-drivers, and in the moment, you barely exchange names. You get up (if you can), dust your self off, check if the other is OK (the least you can do), and if possible, ride on. The reality is my calf is swollen with a bruise the size of a grapefruit, and numerous other bruises on my pretty little stems. I also need to get new handlebars, and another basket.

This makes my affection for biking more of a love/hate relationship. For something that I love and love to do so much, it has supplied my life with much strife.

Gotta run crew, my chariot awaits a bike surgeon. Ciao for now.

Culture Feedbox.

1. Rio de Janeiro is the Olympic City of 2016

BELOW: That's a giant Jesus stature overlooking Rio. Over 50,000 people flooded the streets after the news of Rio's victory. People flaunted posters of the above Jesus with the slogan: Rio Loves You (Get it... sounds like: Jesus Loves You).







[The star power of Michelle, Barack, and Oprah couldn't bring the Olympics to their home city of Chicago, which was booted in the first round of consideration. I heard the Olympic Committee are big Taylor Swift fans... On a lighter, and more significant note, Rio is planting over 3,000 tree's to offset the carbon that will be emitted during the games and its construction. Maybe they forgot to mention all of the other tree's being chopped as apart of their rain forest intervention campaign. Today, Brazil has the 10th largest economy in the world, which is expected to be the fifth by the time 2016 roles around. Just so everyone is clear, California used to be the fifth largest economy. Brazil is also one of the worlds leading oil exporters. This will also be the first Olympic game in South America (DANNGGGG!).]

2. FAME KILLS IS DEAD.


[RIP to the tour and my dreams. Only a few days after tickets going on sale, the Gaga/West Collabo tour has been 86'd. Everyone recalls "Yeezy-Gate" at the VMA's, and in response West said he needed to take some time off, I just wasn't aware that it would be at my expense... Take your time boo-boo, you just better make it up to me. Lady Gaga was planning another tour which was to start after Fame Kills, but she is now planning for that tour to replace what Fame Killed.

Este semana en comida.

This is my past week in food. That is - when I work, when I play, and most importantly: whenever the fuck I want.


Beer bubble.




That is a can of Tecate, the champagne of Mexican beers, Twitter BBQ status. Pinata.


After work, all day everyday.



KITCHENETTE: bougie food out of a loading dock, so SF it makes me sick. Red mole beef tacos w/pickled onions + queso fresco. hlr.



Fuckin tomatoes!



Easy reading.


Siracha and oregano @Kitchenette, glow in the dark Jello @SFMOMA.