Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Jessica Manack's LiveJournal:

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Friday, May 9th, 2008
8:02 pm	Squidfire Spring Art Mart - Saturday, May 10 - Baltimore! Join Squidfire.com and 40 other crafters for an artists' market in Mt Vernon Square. The event, featuring local and national artists who create functional items, is on Saturday, May 10 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Make it an afternoon experience by visiting the Walters, then by stopping by Mt Vernon Place to see some truly unique wares. Perfect place to get a last-minute Mother's Day gift! Or something for yourself. See vendor list here: http://squidfire.com/spring-art-mart-squidfire.cfm Google Map: http://tinyurl.com/5y3he8 Current Music: muxtapes (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, May 2nd, 2008
10:18 pm	BLARG BLARG BLARFG man. my brother has been really bummed out lately, and his favorite band of all time is playing here tonight! so i said we should go, he was so excited, i was like, let's get dinner at Church Brew Works beforehand, blah blah, it was great, then we get to the place and it was SOLD OUT. which he was super surprised about. me too. i had looked online this afternoon at work and could have bought tickets online, but balked at the crazy service charges. we stood outside for over an hour asking everyone if they had any extra tickets, then if they wanted to sell theirs. we were saying we would pay $100 for two! (they cost $17.) i felt so so bad for him, all thru dinner he was like "i haven't missed a show of theirs here since 1996!" BAD BIG SISTER AWARD. Current Mood: majorly bummed (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, April 7th, 2008
4:26 pm	awesome trip! quick recap here is what i did on the rest of my trip... saturday i was in sessions most of the day.... 800-630 brava theater 630-730 back to hotel area downtown, stop at H&M to buy leggings because it is so cold! 730-830 back to hotel 830-1100 gala, got to see Hambone and Jennicakes! and hung w/the rest of the CC attendees. had my first Sparks, whoop! or not. 1130 beautiful sleep sunday 900-230 sessions and lunch at theater 230-600 walk around with grace and olivera; little otsu, 826 valencia, needles and pens! then had a drink on an outdoor patio. such a gorgeous day. 600-700 said bye to the ladies; to mall near by house for japanese stationery shopping!!! 700-800 back to hotel to regroup 800-1000 off to city lights. supposedly there was a bus right in my vicinity that would take me there, but i could not find it. it was one of those huge spider-like intersections, and i could not figure out which corner. tired of waiting, i set off, up the hill! thru chinatown and then the italian neighborhood (do they call it little italy?) this was amazing. though it was sunday night, the streets bustled with activity. it was dark and neon kept the streets brilliantly lit. the shops in chinatown were explosions of color, and as i kept going up and up, the signs got seedier and even greater. more than any other city i have seen, SF has the most great old signs. maybe because the climate is more temperate and they have been able to hang on the longest? what proliferations of kitsch! accordion music filled the air, and lanterns were strung over the streets. it was like a party. 1000-1100 take-out and precious sleep. monday i wish i could say i had done something other than wake up, have coffee, and pack and get myself to the airport, but, alas, it was not to be. i was so tired, though by now i have waken up just nicely. i did not see the golden gate bridge or anything. i veer between caring and not. i saw so much great stuff anyway! so many people! like mariethebee! i can google the golden gate bridge! the literary sites like mcsweeney's and city lights, via ferlinghetti, haha, etc, are even better! Current Mood: content (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, April 5th, 2008
12:15 am	san francisco for craftcon! wow, so everything is going really well so far....I just need to go to sleep! here is how my day has gone so far, beginning with waking up in Pittsburgh, East Coast time... 330 am - wake up 415 am - leave for airport 500 am - get to airport 620 am - leave for chicago 930 am - leave for SF west coast time 1130 am - arrive in SF 1230 pm - get to hotel 130 pm - depart hotel to meet up w/group 230 pm - start tour of SF crafty locs 530 pm - get to bar for readymade cocktail hour! 630 pm - go to dinner 800 pm - back to my hood for running around a bit. i popped into a Lush store for the first time ever! positively gorgeous...the place looks like a deli. however, EXPENSIVE. now - hanging in hotel room, getting ready for sleep. although it is 12:30 pittsburgh time and i have therefore been up for 21 hours, I feel like a jerk for not exploring more. but i need to regroup like it is my job. sf is great. walking around is great, very walkable. the weather was gorgeous today, maybe 65 and brilliant sun, but got very windy and cold at night. though still 50 which is not so cold, but the wind just makes it awful. i didnt bring a jacket and that was maybe dumb.....i am rocking the layers tho. it is funny, people who live here are wearing scarves and gloves! and i am like "Hot Dog! this heat rocks!" haha. transit is extensive but daunting. there are so many freaking forms of transit, cable cars, buses, BART, Muni......which get you where you need to go, but knowing how to get each, pay for each, is a little tricky. though I have to say, I haven't been lost yet. thanks in part to Grace's help! thanks dood. also like Grace, I will be posting updates to my flickr and twitter as I have time if you are interested! Current Music: someone showering next door (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 30th, 2008
7:07 pm	completely obsessed! my muxtape! whee..... Current Mood: happy (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
8:17 pm	DEAR GOD, WHAT?!!? oh my god, i think i absolutely need to sign up for this and am hyperventilating trying to think quickly. omgomgomgomg. This is amazing!!!!!!!! WOW Hell-ooooo PITTSBURGH! Yes, we truly love Pittsburgh! Home of Fred Rogers AND french fry sandwiches -- say! no! more! PLEASE join us for two action-packed, six-hour days of WRITING the UNTHINKABLE with Lynda Barry in PITTSBURGH, PA! A two-day class SATURDAY and SUNDAY, April 19th and 20th! (yes, we know that is Passover Weekend and we are sorry to accidentally always be teaching on holiday weekends!) Our class hours are designed for night owls, sleepy heads, and brunch lovers -- check this out: 11AM -- 5PM both days! This is a small, small class -- ONLY 25 seats! Reet! Petite! And soon-to-be-GONE! Tuition is ONLY $250.00! Act now! Contact our class secretary BETTY BONG at fromthedeskofmarlys@yahoo.com to sign-up! We will write back with our simple and satisfying, check-or-money-order-straight-to-Lynda tuition payment instructions! So very old school! We will send you the complete class information and exact location when we receive your tuition! You MUST mail your tuition within FIVE DAYS of signing-up! All students are responsible for their own transportation and lodging! And hey! You must be at least 18 years old to take our class! We offer a 10% discount for folks OVER 65! We will card you at the door like you're trying to buy beer in high school -- woo! Our class is for ALL kinds of people -- not just necessarily the "writerly" types! This class works well for anyone who has a curiosity about writing and wants to know how the heck to even start doing it -- or how to start doing it MORE! Writing, that is! For more information on the gist of our class -- please check out our MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/writingtheunthinkable and then if you have any further questions AT ALL we are oh-so ready to answer them! Let us know! COME to PITTSBURGH! Sign up today! We are standing by... Current Mood: freekin (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, March 17th, 2008
12:15 am	down to the running....so accurate (Comment on this)
Friday, February 29th, 2008
10:11 pm	my favorite french words of the moment 10. vraiment 9. pourquoi 8. lui 7. perdu 6. pense 5. a-t-il [how is that a word? maddening] 4. quelqu'un 3. matin 2. heureuse and the winner..(it was close)... 1. chagrin! so much fun to say. Current Music: hot air blowing. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
12:07 am	altogether the wrong time of year, but... ...I found this poem while cleaning out old emails (I have 10,000+ mails I cannot part with in my constantly-full Hollins box...le sigh....) and I love it so much! Even tho reading it in winter seems wrong. ISLAND, PERHAPS In days like these it rains after days of unease before the rains would fall; the earth so dry, that water falls away, runs off the back of the world into basins and low country, country unlike this. You wonder where the mountain got its name, and why I persist in thinking of an island. There's no surf here, no saltwater taffy to pull us from our daily pains into a sleep that lulls us into dreams. Like a remembered dream, the rain falls, falling and racing in streams along parched ground. It is barely summer, and you are far removed, in these mountains that I cling to, while the world rains and I write this letter, and you, perhaps, must push the thought of me until it dislodges, spins, falls away to root in someone else. You think of longing and my heart must ache. I think of you and think that you must find it easy not to remember me when the rain begins again. That I cannot have the mountain and the ocean is nothing in the scheme of things; that this rain must be falling is nothing; that drought ends, nothing; that I am remembering you the way the earth finally remembers it has the power of rain is like a catch in the throat, in time, it will be nothing too. Cathryn Hankla Current Music: francoise hardy - je t'aime. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, February 25th, 2008
9:00 pm	have you hugged yr CSA today? i swear, i try really hard to love fruits and vegetables, even if they just simply do not appeal to me as much as their cheesier, carbier, chocolatey-er cousins on the food pyramid. nonetheless, the fact that i am about to send off a check for $600+ worth of the buggers is kind of gut-wrenching. and simultaneously one of the best things i have done! i finally got my act together and am signing up for a CSA this year! i googled yesterday (try googling "CSA [your town]" and maybe add "slow food" if you aren't finding anything) and Pittsburgh has a ton of them! this will be good for me for so many reasons, like the bigger ones: - enables small farms to survive! - supports sustainable and less cruel practices like raising free range chickens! - saves fuel and energy from not driving my food 1000s of miles across the country! and the personal ones: - i won't have to think about what to buy, since i will just have to walk over two blocks and get my stuff! then, there they will be. all those vegetables. - i will try lots of new things. - the quantities involved are small enough to minimize waste. i am pretty good at avoiding costco syndrome (buying too much and having to throw things away) but it has happened on occasion and the spasms of remorse were fierce! - the food will be so much better than stuff trucked in from who knows where, be fresher, last longer! - plus we will be contributing to the local economy! 30 weeks, april-october. $22 a week which is not bad at all! it will be like prepaying for groceries which is awesome. like all this stuff will just magically appear. (you don't have to pay all at once; i am just doing it so i don't chicken out). the one that i am signing up for is really cool and may include other stuff like cheese, honey and free range eggs! yay! it is a group of several small farms. ALSO they email recipes every week to help you figure out how to cook your bounty! anyone else do this? i am so psyched! Current Mood: happy Current Music: francoise hardy - je veux qu'il revienne. (10 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, February 1st, 2008
8:23 pm	june carter singing! this video kills me. her eyes pierce my soul! there is some goofiness in the beginning; the song actually begins around 1:40... Current Mood: calm (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007
12:59 am	Happy Birthday.... to Jennicakes!!! Whee! Current Mood: jolly Current Music: blonde on blonde. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, December 10th, 2007
7:44 pm	thanks to Jennicakes! Let's rock. Go to the Wikipedia home page and click random article. That is your band's name. Click random article again; that is your album name. Click random article 10 more times; those are the tracks on your album. Band Name: Queso Album Name: Dukes of Broglie Tracklist: 1. WSBS-TV 2. After the Cape 3. Mister Ten Per Cent 4. Neulengbach 5. Mistakes were made 6. Helen L. Seaborg 7. Gaston Mendy 8. Origin of Karnataka's name 9. Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy 10. 1329 in Ireland My band is so pretentious!!! Current Mood: LOLZ (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, November 16th, 2007
10:25 pm	some days it's great to be alive. this morning was awful. on weds i took my car to the dealer since it was refusing to accelerate. i was maxing out at like 45 mph anywhere with a slight grade (not that that applies to anywhere in pittsburgh!). they identified the problem but didn't have a part, so said i could keep driving on it but bring it back today when the part was in. o-kay...sigh. it is a big enough hassle to get myself to work on time, much less to the car place early enough to get to work on time, get someone to drive me back to pick up my car, etc etc. today i took my car back in, only to get a call not long after i had gotten to the office. too quickly: a bad sign. the part they ordered turned out to be DEFECTIVE. and they were overnighting a new one. AUGH. so they coordinated a rental, on them, at least, and i had to get a ride back out to moon to get the rental, and bring it back tomorrow where hopefully the part will have come and my car will be done. only since that branch of enterprise closes at noon, it has to be before then. sometimes i hate driving out to the burbs on the weekends. it takes so long! not to mention it will likely be snowing. AND my car might not even be done. i think i tried to confirm it with the dude and he was like "let's hope so!" yeah, let's. but, anyway, that is not even the awful part of my day! i was driving to the car place this morning on the parkway. i was driving along, in the middle lane of 3 when i saw that the pickup truck in front of me was losing part of its load - it was full of a bunch of maybe 30" cubes of something, and one just blew up and out of the truck, directly into my path. i saw it barreling toward me and it was one of the most awful moments of my life. in my head or maybe out loud i just said "no! no! no!" which alarms me a lot. this was not the most productive thing to do. in reality, i don't think there was much i could have done, seeing as how there were moving vehicles to either side, but i just sort of froze, maybe slowing down a bit. anyway, it hit me head on - i thought i might drive over it or flip or something - but it was so light that it bounced directly off my front bumper, into the car to my left, who did try to swerve to avoid it, nearly hitting me. i kept driving, in total shock, and didn't get the truck's plates, but saw the company name, and promptly called 411 to get their office number and bitch them out. i finally realized i should pull over, and saw that, somehow, no damage was done. i think it was a landscaping company, so it must have been something like peat or something else really light? i was sort of out of it all day after this, totally flailing at work. ugh. this totally happened to me on the way to detroit last year, too, with a huge chunk of tire. i was in the same situation and could not move out of the way. also we had a really devastating accident here not too long ago, too, where a chipper came loose from a truck and killed a father and two baby triplets out of three in the car behind it. so i guess i am going to remember to get the hell out of the way from now on, when i am behind people hauling stuff. Current Mood: tired. Current Music: iron heating up. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007
9:25 pm	r.i.p., mr. poopy pants Robert Goulet dies while waiting for transplant Current Mood: sleepy (Comment on this)
Saturday, October 20th, 2007
11:21 pm	Gocco Update! Good article in tomorrow's NYT about the status of saving Gocco! Nothing definitive, but, at least, hope? I guess I will keep stockpiling...! Current Mood: aight (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 25th, 2007
11:05 am	One More Week to Apply to the Handmade Arcade! The 2007 Handmade Arcade will take place in Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, November 10, AND Sunday, November 11. 2007 will bring the biggest and best Arcade yet! The application deadline is Saturday, September 1. You'll also find a handy FAQ on the site that we hope will answer just about any question you have! Click here to go to the site, read the Application Guidelines, and apply! (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007
11:15 pm	New From Miss Chief!! I Goccoed a bunch of lovely labels this weekend! It was so much fun and I think it's just the beginning! I want to do some more in a million colors! And I have a lot of other ideas for designs too! Click the pic below if you need to get some of your own! P.S. Yes, as a matter of fact I do have something against ending sentences with periods!!!!!! Current Mood: hot Current Music: john doe - golden state (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 21st, 2007
7:47 am	nerd alert. i am constantly entertained by the fact that holllins was so small and homey that i still dream about certain foods from the caf! like someone just mentioned blackberry pie and i remembered the blackberry cobbler! with vanilla ice cream!!! funny, because i just made my student loan payment today. was that macaroni and cheese worth paying for for years and years? actually, i think it was. Current Mood: hungry! (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 18th, 2007
12:42 am	WHAT. Did everyone but me know that Amber von Tussle in (the original) Hairspray went on to become VITAMIN C???? Dang. Current Music: friends forever!!!! (4 Comments |Comment on this)