Current Events

Current Events

Mid-Year Review

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It’s crazy to believe that 2019 is more than halfway through. From what I’ve discussed and lived through with family and friends, this year has been quite a roller coaster ride for everyone. I personally feel like I’ve experienced some growth, but also feel like I’ve taken two steps in other areas of life.

Here’s where I’ve been ~

// Career //

I started a new job at the end of January. I wasn’t too thrilled at my previous job, so it was a relief to start fresh with new responsibilities surrounded by new faces. It’s officially been six months since I’ve started there, and I’ve truly been super happy.

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Current Events

My Top 5 Adhesives & Glues

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I’ve used my 28 years searching for the best glues and adhesives for all the sorts of projects I do on a daily basis. Glue is super important for a lot of the crafts that I work on, and it’s taken me a while to figure out which types and brands work best.

After all these years, I’ve discovered what my top 5 favorites are that are worth using consistently.

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Current Events Well-Being

Secret Beauty Product

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For a little over a year, I’ve been working on illustrations and collages for online website Ok Whatever, which just officially launched last week. Watching a project -not mine for a change- be molded and prepared to the extent this website has is a true form of patience and professionalism. I give Jessie, the owner of the website, a lot of credit for all the hard work and dedication she put into to make sure the content is there, fitting into the weird subject matter the website is all about.

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Current Events

Define Adult

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The past month for me involved moving and then adjusting to a new home. My roommate and I put a little over two years at our other apartment and we took the next step into finding a new place with a friend of ours. We upgraded from two bedrooms to three bedrooms. I had it in my head that as soon as you upgrade to 3+ bedrooms, apartments automatically get much bigger.

The beginning of our search didn’t make me feel so confident about large living spaces, as the majority of our viewings were pretty small apartments. I’ll admit – I got agitated and probably unbearable to deal with. As soon as you include a third person into the mix, more compromising has to occur and I was dead set on what I wanted. Luckily in the end, we found a place we’re all happy with and we’re settled in.

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Current Events

International Women’s Day

Guest post written by Victoria

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Did y’all know that web searches for the phrase “how to be a strong woman” reached an all time high this past December? I’ll admit it — I was one of those folks asking Google that very question one week when I was feeling particularly down about myself. I had been letting the opinions of others cloud my judgement — particularly those of a certain flame who was projecting his own insecurities onto me. Turned out that, like Dorothy Gale, I’d been wearing those magical shoes the entire time.

I am a strong woman — always have been. I’ve got the women who came before me to thank for that.

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Current Events Sustainability

Nomad Mermaid — Upgrades

Guest post written by Victoria

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My original Nomad Mermaid Mobile was put together on a really tight budget and all of my materials came from The Dollar Tree by the apartment I was ditching in order to live in my car. The windows got blocked out with windshield solar screens I cut to fit, my sleeping pad was four inches of foam I’d sewn together, and this was what I had to cook on:

My tuna can spirit burner cost me a total of $3 and a near brush with death when the blade I was using to cut the vent notches slipped and sliced my wrist too close for comfort to a vein. I decided to set a smaller can inside a bigger one to create a wind shield and it did the job well enough to boil water in the camp pot I got from my grandfather.

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Current Events

New Year To Resist

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I don’t know about you but I’m happy 2018 is finally here. Last year was a weird one. A lot of things happened – both good and bad.

The weird, sucky political state we’re in right now is actually causing a positive change in a way, like a domino effect. We’re all waking up, realizing what we’ve been taking for granted along with change within our communities and industries, bringing to light a lot of issues no one wanted to speak up about before. This is the sort of revolution people were fighting for all these years. We’re not even close to a point that’s worth congratulating over, but it’s a point where we can give a gold star for acknowledging the opening of a door to better behavior.

We had to start somewhere, and 2017 was just the beginning. Let’s hope that 2018 will kick ass politically, mentally, socially, economically, and personally. 👍

With that said, here are some random photos I snapped from the past year that make me smile:

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Current Events

Ode To A Box On Four Wheels; How The Nomadic Mermaid Got Her Fins

Guest post written by Victoria

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Way back in March of 2017, I totaled my sweet little Kia Soul — Aretha Franklin. At just over fifty-thousand miles, she was only halfway through her warranty, one of two major deciding factors in her purchase. The other, and biggest, push to buy was found in the pages of the brochure — a glossy image of a young guy camping out of the back of his car. The trunk was open and he was curled up with blankets, seats folded flat, looking out with a soft smile at a crisp, cerulean ocean view. For the briefest of nanoseconds my heart stopped. This is where I want to be.

Three days later I was the proud owner of a brand new black 2013 Kia Soul — the three miles on her were put there by my test drive. And for almost five years, we learned how to nomad together as she saw me through one of my deepest transformation periods yet!

And then she gave her life to save mine.

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Current Events

Life In The Fast Lane

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This year has been encouraging in the way of following through with goals and being active to change for the better. Change is good, especially when you have nothing to lose and so much to gain.

One big goal I gave myself this year was to work out. I know, that’s everyone’s resolution every year – to get fit. But I was set on making it happen at some point. I’m just not a gym person; I can’t just ~go~ to the gym. I figured my kind of workout is in class form. So I signed up for kickboxing. It sure has been kicking my ass though. Bruises, soreness, etc. everything. So far I’ve done 6 classes – two a week, and I hope to keep consistent. My initial goal this year was to specifically sign up for dance classes, especially hip hop, but I figured there’s nothing wrong with doing both, right? I’ll get to that eventually as a side fun workout class. For now I’m trying to keep a consistent schedule with my kickboxing since I gave into a membership.

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Current Events

Hoarders Paradise

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Whenever I get into conversations about my hobbies and background in art and sewing, I always bring up my grandparents. My grandma was a seamstress and when my grandparents moved to America, they bought a space in Queens and opened up a shoe repair shop. They had all sorts of machinery, and loads of leather, shoelaces, and other materials. I loved visiting them at work when I was young because it was fun watching them fix all sorts of shoes.

Their basement in their home was what you could imagine. Multiple old school Singer sewing machines attached to the table, fabric everywhere, thread, and other miscellaneous items. Towards the end of them owning their shop, and before my grandma got sick, their basement turned into a hot mess which one would say became a bad case of hoarding. It was mostly my grandma and her need to collect things to sell at flea markets. But flea markets became out of the question when she became immobile. After that, we’d take a trip to the basement to grab a few things here and there when I was running out of sewing supplies.

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