Ghirardelli Intense Dark Pairings

While I *am* indeed the official partner of Ghirardelli and a hostess to the upcoming Ghirardelli Intense Dark Pairings event for the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, there was a glitch in promotion and folks are being sent here to OakMonster HQ for information on the event instead of to Food.OakMonster.com where all the coverage of the event will be. Click on the banner on right or… Click here and head on over to Food.OakMonster.com now! Get the information on the event and see how you can get on my invite list. Ah. The woes of having an internet empire. 😉...
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Here come the USC Trojans

Amy and Oakley

Shift your gear, people. We’re coming out of the summer movie geek out and going into fall USC football madness. From tomorrow through Thanksgiving, count me out for any Saturday activities.  Thankfully, many games this season will be in the evening, so I won’t have to miss much of my Italian lessons starting up in a few weeks. What? Italian classes on Saturday mornings during football season?  Are you mad!?  As my husband would say, “you did that to yourself.” Yeah, I guess I’m masochistic that way. First game of the year lands on Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately, a lot...
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Lost and Found

Wandering

All who wander are not lost. But when you’ve wandered around a while, you’re starting believe that you might really be lost. Since my 6-year career at the nonprofit ended in March, I’ve been wandering in and out of small projects and side jobs, and online and in-person interviews. I’ve wandered into the territory of full-time freelancing, puffed up with optimism and confidence. But some negative experiences with people along with what Seth Godin called “Lizard Brain”–the resistance part of your brain telling you to slow down and be careful–sent me packing. Eventually, I return to the familiar open space...
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Getting All “Doctor” Up

Obviously, we’re a Halloween household. I usually start planning the costumes earlier in the year. Some year, we don’t have to do too much. Some year, we’d go all out. This year, I am determined to go as the TARDIS incarnated as a cute blue dress [ETA] a blue velvet corset and a tutu with a hat that glows.  Here are my digital “drafts”, a quick and crude Photoshop image of what my outfit could/would look like. But out from that came the idea to do a group costume with our friends James and Aurora, and her sister Lee. I...
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iPodyssey returns

ipodyssey

Last year, I participated in the Wise Guys Events first-ever iPodyssey, an Mp3 flash mob event.  An offshoot of New York City’s famous Improv Everywhere‘s MP3 experiment. I’m going to do it again this year! Many of the folks I know from Thrill the World and GuerilLA Improv were there too.  Well, some of us from GLA were already at the rehearsal for the flash mob musical so we just headed down the freeway from there. It was so much fun!  Running around with all these strangers, following only the voices in your ears.  Other people were looking on like WTF...
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