miPhone

this is the post where i share most of the applications i have downloaded into my iphone. MOST are free, although i did pay a minimal amount of ching for a few of them. my favorites are marked with a ♥ .

NEWS
BBC Reader - BBC News
♥ NY Times - the New York Times... on the go.
Tribune News - Chicago News
NPR Mobile - NPR. Free. This American Life not included.

REVIEWS / TRAVEL
Local Picks - by tripadvisor.com (my fav website for finding estaurants, hotels, vacation destinations) plenty of reviews to read. i'm simply bummed that ONLY restaurants are featured in this app. it would be nice to have access to all of the information on their website.
Where - restaurant, starbucks, movie, zipcar, gas, and concert finder. it's ok. i don't use it much. but, it's free. if i were forced to delete any one app on my phone, this one would be the first to go.
Yelp - online reviews ala yelp.com. kinda cool. free.
Urbanspoon - randomly selects restaurants for you to try based on your criteria. it's ok. it's free.
SitOrSquat - a place to find and record restrooms all throughout the US. find a clean restroom near you. report a dirty restroom. sitorsquat.com
Metromix - find restaurants, bars, clubs, music, movies in most major cities. metromix.com
Citysearch - restaurant, hotel, bsalon, shopping reviews. free. citysearch.com it's ok.
♥ BlackBook - insider reviews of the hottest, most fashionable restaurants, bars & clubs, hotels, & shopping worth checking out. includes most major cities. free & beautiful app.
Grub Hub - discover restaurants that deliver. view menus, ratings, and reviews before placing your order. available in four major cities: chicago, san fran, boston, and new york. free & necessary on a lazy sunday.
♥ Veg Out - a vegetarian restuarant guide powered by happycow.net. this app actually categorizes the restaurants in to 3 categories: vegan, vegetarian, and veg friendly.

SOCIAL NETWORKING
Facebook - yeah yeah.
Myspace - yeah yeah yeah.
Loopt - i downloaded this app after being invited by a fellow iphone user. share your exact location with friends, and see their exact location. update your status twitter style. you can share your status with verizon, sprint, metro PCS users as well as at&t users. free.
My Snaps - although i have not used this app much as of yet, it seems cool. organize your photos into different collections & catagories. share photos with your friends. also available, celebrity gossip, news, fashion, beauty, etc... free. limelife.com

MUSIC
♥ Pandora - internet radio that allows you to create your own stations by entering artists or songs that you like. you can create more than one station. pandora.com. free & amazing.
♥ Shazam - this app will listen to any music that is currently playing and instantly tell you what the name of the song and the artist. it's free.

SHOPPING
♥ Amazon.com - i shop amazon.com often so this app come in handy. my wishlists, shopping carts, and payment information are all included in the app. i can purchase any item from my phone, and add items to my wishlist at any time.
Craigsphone - the free version of craigslist.org. browse classifieds, or post.. even upload pics to your posting! there are other versions of craigslist for cost, i am satisfied with the free version.
Carries Closet - a la sex & the city, create an online version of your closet. pair items together, create outfits, & accessorize. share with friends. enjoy music from the sex & the city soundtrack while wardrobing. free.

REFERENCE
Go Green - go green. get green tips that are saved to your green list. a new green tip every day. free.
♥ Wordbook - not free, but the best dictionary app for ihpone. worth it.
Inspired Ones - inspiring quotes. a new quote every day. free. inspirational.
Who Called - reverse phone lookup utlity. i haven't used it yet.... free.
♥ Google - google anything ala voice search. google while you drive ala voice search! get directions to any destination straight from this app. free.

LIFESTYLE
Style.com - men's fashion, parties, fashion shows, style file blog, style videos. free.
Yum Yum - vegan recipe book. the blog: http://www.veganyumyum.com/
Green...LITE - information from The Green Book ....the everyday guide to saving the planet one simple step at a time. free.

RANDOM?
Darkroom - a photo app that will only take pictures when your hand is steady therefore eliminating blurry pics.
Art Camera - turn your photos into a work of art, or just make a funny picture with lots of different vivid photo and art filters. i love it.
Flixster - movie finder. good ish. free.
♥ Backgrounds - this app is free and allows you to download as many backgrounds as your little heart desires. all images are beautiful. there are 40+ categories of pictures. i believe the pics are pulled from flickr.com.
Wi-Fi Finder - need i say more?


obesessed? not quite. missing anything? let me know............



xox bird*

life is precious.

my best friend has a son who is suffering from severe anxiety, depression, and addiction to Rx drugs. my heart dropped and my stomach turned when i heard the news today. his son made the decision to purchase a gun. a glock. we got word through a friend of his.........

Depression is a medical illness that involves the mind and body. It affects how you think and behave and can cause a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may not be able to go about your usual daily activities, and depression may make you feel as if life just isn't worth living anymore.

Addiction is a primary, progressive, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by impaired control over use of the substance, preoccupation with the substance, use of the substance despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking.

my brother carries a gun daily.... every where he goes. it makes me nervous to be in the same room with him. there is no comfort in sleeping in the same house as him. i worry that he will loose his temper in an argument and pull his gun on someone. i worry that something will happen on accident.

until now, i never worried about my brother using his own gun to shoot himself.... but he currently has a shitty job, can't pay his bills, car reposessed, has no vision of the future..............

during my high school years, i dated a guy that chose to shoot himself with his best friends gun..... in front of all of his friends. he had an alcohol problem and quite possibly, suffered from depression. no one saw it coming...... in fact, his closest friends still call it an "accident" ... "he wouldn't do that to us," they say.

within the last year or two, i have come in to contact with so many people that have been through "the program." due to the fact that the salon owner at the salon i work in is a recovering addict, recovering addicts are prevalent guests of the salon. after 6-7-8 years of being sober, these people still attend meetings every week. these people are happy. the salon is a safe and positive place. they are recognized as being recovered and encouraged to continue moving forward in a positive direction.

personally, i have never had an addiction to anything. i have never suffered from depression. at the most, minor anxiety. i do not understand. i can not relate.

i am sick. my stomach is in knots. i need to know that everything is going to be ok.

Starting Over @ 26 - Take 3

Despite a lack of support, contrary to what many people believed would actually happen... I received a formal job offer in Chicago. i win. accused of being appointed this job that i have been interviewing for since october. multiple interviews. interview after interview after phone call after meeting after phone call after question after interview after phone call after meeting. i have given a formal departure notice to my current boss. he later yelled slash screamed at me... told me to grow up. i did not yell and scream back. i still win. no emotion. no emotion. no emotion. simply, reality. they can no longer bring me down. it's a done. deal. job starts march 1. moved to chi april 1. done. deal. i win. i greatly appreciate those who have supported me from day one. i highly despise those who worked diligently to slow me down. to back me up. to bring me down. i still win.

i ♥ chicago.
i ♥ chicago.
i ♥ chicago.

i'm headed back home. Starting Over @ 26

xox Happy Birdie

just another THURSday...

3:15 am Alarm Sounds
4:00 am Smoothie in hand
4:20 am Pack my laptop/books/notepad into my laptop bag
4:22 am Hop in the car - headed to the airport
4:45 am Arrive at the MSP airport
4:50 am Discover the security line is long. VERY long. with no shortcut for Elite/First Class Passengers
4:55 am I manage to cut t least 50 people in the security line
4:59 am I hurriedly rush through the airport (in heels) in order to make my flight on time
5:00 am I am discovered by a shuttle driver and am basically thrown in to his shuttle as it is moving and am transported to my gate at the other end of the airport
5:06 am In line for a bottle of water and a not-so-organic banana
5:11 am Board plane to ATL
5:40 am With Paris Hilton's Confessions Of An Heiress
8:49 am Via the BBC Newsreader iPhone app., I discover Chicago is in the lead for Olympics 2016
8:59 am Deplane in ATL
9:00 am Rushing through airport in order to catch my connecting flight to TPA
9:19 am Bitched out by some woman sitting in MY seat. she thought she was right. I knew she was wrong.
9:49 am With Paris Hilton's Confessions Of An Heiress
11:04 am Arrive TPA
11:34 am @ Marriot Airport Restaurant meeting with my new (potential) bosses for a final interview
12:30 pm Did my interviewer just order a second plate of food??
1:00 pm Did one of my interviewers just get up in the middle of our conversation to make a trip to the gift shop, only to return with a Valentines Day Gift for his wife?
1:15 PM Giving my interviewer instructions on a DIY Valentine's Day card
1:30 pm Meeting over. On tram back to Delta Gates
2:00 pm plugged in at a station in the business center, I scour tripadvisor.com for things to do while on cruise in March
4:00 pm Board a plane back to ATL
4:06 pm Plane smells like piss and sweaty socks
4:20 pm With Confession's Of An Heiress
5:45 pm Deplane in ATL
5:50 pm Rush to the opposite end of the airport to catch connecting flight
5:59 pm Just in time for the attendant to not close the aircraft door in my face. last one to board the plane
6:02 pm Seat 39A? Fuck.
6:15 pm I am reminded for the FOURTH time today that my seat cushion doubles as a flotation device
6:20 pm I need to quit my job and become an heiress
6:35 pm With The Secret Life Of Bees movie
7:59 pm Steadily watching every move the plane makes on Delta GPS, counting down the minutes unil I can get off the f'n airplane
8:11 pm Arrive in MSP.
8:23 pm Deplane.
8:40 pm Shuttle to long-term parking, blue ramp, Acura parked in the first row.

cruisin'

Mid-March, I am headed back to the Caribbean Celebrity Cruise style ..... a 7 day trip that will be squeezed between divisional meetings in Tampa and an artist training in LA. I will be gone from home a total of 17 consecutive days.

[image yanked from DailyCandy]

Upon arrival to San Juan, I anticipate shopping, and delish vegan puerto rican food (does it exist... COULD it exist??) Due to the fact that I am boarding a CRUISE SHIP and can not stay in Puerto Rico (for very long) and PLAY, I will am thoroughly disappointed in missing an opportunity to swim amongst the jellyfish in the BioBay at midnight.

Maho Bay is located at the Southwest shore of St. Maarten and has a feeling similar to that of the Las Vegas Strip. The beach sits on the southern end of the airport runway and warns that "Low Flying and Departing Aircraft may cause injury." Seriously.

In the Dominca, we will put on a wetsuit and helmet... and prepare ourselves for rapelling through waterfalls, scrambling over logs jams, and wading through rivers and pools Extreme Dominca Style.

Nestled between the exotic and magnificent tropical rainforest, flora, fauna and history of the Balthazar Estate, Grenada offers a river tubing experience that is sure to be the "thrill of a lifetime." While aboard a glass-bottomed boat, I will be sure to check out the underwater sculptures.

In Tobago, how do you choose between beachin' at heavenly Castara Bay or snorkeling in the Nylon Pool which is an off-shore sandbar, a swimming pool in the middle of the ocean?

I have passed up the opportunity for surfing lessons one too many times, In Barbados, I will not pass up the opportunity to ride the waves.

Saint Valentine

February 14th & Juno Fructifier or Juno Februata:
The Romans celebrated a holiday on February 14th to honor Juno Fructifier, Queen of the Roman gods and goddesses as well as goddess of marriage. In one ritual, women would submit their names to a common box and men would each draw one out. These two would be a couple for the duration of the festival (and at times for the entire following year). Both rituals were designed to promote not only fertility, but also life generally.

February 15th & Feast of Lupercalia:
On February 15, Romans celebrated Luperaclia, honoring Faunus, god of fertility. Men would go to a grotto dedicated to Lupercal, the wolf god, located at the foot of Palatine Hill and where Romans believed that the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, were suckled by a she-wolf. The men would sacrifice a goat, don its skin, and run around, hitting women with small whips, an act which was supposed to ensure fertility.

St. Valentine, Christian Priest:
According to one story, Roman emperor Claudius II imposed a ban on marriages because too many young men were dodging the draft by getting married (only single men had to enter the army). A Christian priest named Valentinus was caught performing secret marriages and sentenced to death. While awaiting execution, young lovers visited him with notes about how much better love is than war — the first “valentines.” The execution occurred in 269 CE on February 14th.

St. Valentine, Second and Third:
Another Valentinus was a priest jailed for helping Christians. During his stay he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and sent her notes signed “from your Valentine.” He was eventually beheaded and buried on the Via Flaminia. Reportedly Pope Julius I built a basilica over his grave. A third and final Valentinius was the bishop of Terni and he was also martyred, with his relics being taken back to Terni.

Christianity Takes Over Valentine’s Day:
In 469, emperor Gelasius declared February 14th a holy day in honor of Valentinus instead of the pagan god Lupercus. This allowed Christianity to take over some of the celebrations of love and fertility which had perviously occurred in the context of paganism. Pagan celebrations were reworked to fit the martyr theme — Christianity did not approve of rituals that encouraged sexuality. Instead of pulling girls’ names from boxes, both boys and girls chose the names of martyred saints from a box.

Valentine’s Day Turns to Love:
It wasn’t until the Renaissance of 14th century that customs returned to celebrations of love and life rather than faith and death. People began to break free of some of the bonds imposed upon them by the Church and move towards a humanistic view of nature, society, and the individual. Moving towards more sensual art and literature, there was no shortage of poets and authors connecting the dawning of Spring with love, sexuality, and procreation.

Valentine’s Day & Divination:
As with so many other holidays that have pagan roots, divination came to play an important role in the development of modern Valentine’s Day. People looked to all sorts of things, primarily in nature, in order to find some sign about who might become their mate for life — their One True Love. There were also, of course, things which came to be used to induce love or lust.

Commercialization of Valentine’s Day:
Today, capitalist commercialism is the biggest aspect of Valentine’s Day. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on chocolate, candies, flowers, dinners, hotel rooms, jewelry, and other gifts used to celebrate February 14th. There’s a lot of money to be made from people’s desire to commemorate the day. Only Christmas and Halloween come close in the way that modern commercialism has transformed and adopted an ancient pagan celebration.

Valentine’s Day as a Pagan, Commercial Holiday:
Valentine’s Day is no longer part of the official liturgical calendar of any Christian church; it was dropped from the Catholic calendar in 1969. It’s not a feast, a celebration, or a memorial of any martyrs. A return to more pagan-like celebrations of February 14th is not surprising — and neither is the overall commercialization of the day. Millions of people all over the world celebrate Valentine’s Day in one fashion or another, but it’s unlikely that even one of them celebrates it in an even remotely religious manner.

This has resulted in some backlash among reiligious leaders in some societies. Some of the negative reactions are due to the pagan and commercialized elements, but some must be attributed to the long-term Christian character of the day. In India, Hindu nationalists threatened anyone caught observing any Christian holidays, including Valentine’s Day. Some young lovers caught in public together on Valentine’s Day were even assaulted. Government officials in Saudi Arabia prohibited Muslims from doing anything at all associated with Valentine’s Day.

A few Christians seem to be interested in restoring some semblance of religion to Valentine’s Day, though not in any traditional sense. They don’t want to use it as a means for memorializing saints, but as a means of evangelization. In Kansas, for example, Christians sent roses to high school girls that were accompanied by Bible verses. It’s not clear whether they were trying to reclaim a lost Christian holiday or merely trying to appropriate a secular, commercial holiday for their own purposes.

The truth, though, is that American culture has so taken over Valentine’s Day that no amount of Bible verses will be able to change things. Commercial interests make so much money from Valentine’s Day that they aren’t going to accept any changes that won’t lead to even more profits. Christians helped make Valentine’s Day a cultural holiday, and now it’s entirely out of their hands.

[source: http://atheism.about.com/]

love is... never forgetting....

love is... following your heart

love is... being there to share in their achievements

love is... an empty space when they are gone

love is... helping to make the world a more caring place

love is... seeing them larger than life

love is... a labyrinth

Starting Over @ 26 - Take 2

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"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."

[Henry David Thoreau]

Starting Over @ 26 – Take 1

rise & shine

the alarm clock rings. 6 AM. the world is still dark as my eyes slowly open. my hands feel around for my buzzing phone to cut the ear-piercing sound.

as i hop out of bed and turn a light on, i immediately begin my search for the pooch. i am never quite sure where i will find him in the morning.

that's right folks, last week i spent the WHOLE week (5 consecutive days!!) waking up to an alarm clock at the crack of dawn.

as long as i am in bed at a decent hour, i do not have a problem waking up early in the AM... not even in bone-chilling temperatures. my condo stays warmer than necessary. the pooch, on the other hand has no desire to be up at the crack of dawn. often times, i have to pick him up, carry him outside, and demand he potty as i already struggle to be on time.

by the time i drag myself (and all of the things i need for the day) out the door, the morning crowd is buzzing. i look around at other people in their cars and wonder what time they got up this morning and what time they hit the road. how is it that they had extra time to hit Starbucks, and i hardly had time to take the pooch out for his morning relief??

traffic is heavy in the morning and requires that i leave extra early. you see, when you don't ride morning traffic often, it is a challenge to predict how many cars will be headed in the same direction as yourself.

i enjoy CNN headline news, BBC Radio, and NPR on XM in the morning. i am always curious as to what time those people have to get out of bed in the AM to be at the station ready for broadcasting the news straight to the speakers in the Acura.

it doesn't matter how early i am forced to wake myself and rise from the bed... there is always someone that has experienced the rise and shine earlier than me.

i am certainly not a morning person, but will admit that it feels good to get up and get a move on the day.

monday morning... tomorrow... i will be forced out of the bed at 6 AM for the 6th consecutive work day. february is going to be a productive month for me.

Crista From The Block*

1PHOTO taken in my (cluttered with cosmetics/accessories) bedroom. Diesel Boots. Authentic (?) Rhinestone-embedded Cowboy belt from Tony's Saddle Shop in Valparaiso, IN (I used to stop by when driving between my hometown and Chicago, IL). I purchased this belt in 2005 just before heading to the Redken Symposium in Vegas. Happened to be Show Season, therefore the store was full of glitteratti inspired Cowgirl Garb. Hoodie by BCBG.

2PHOTO taken by MartiniVision at his home studio in NYC. & illegally altered by myself on my iPhone via the ArtCamera App. The original copy of this photo is amazing.

3PHOTO taken in the Acura. Aviator Shades from ALDO. Puma scarf which is not visible.

xox

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Fruity Tooty

.........fruit in its raw form is exactly what your body needs for energy. It is easy to digest and the sugar from fruit (glucose) is in the form that your body can easily turn into energy. Instead of your body putting a lot of energy towards digestion and turning the food into a useable form of fuel, it is already in an easily digestible form. The energy goes straight to you. Eating nothing but fruit until lunchtime – however much you want, is a sure fire way to lose weight and become more healthy, almost immediately.............. {www.rawplus.com}

Following the Skinny Bitch admonition, I have disciplined myself to a fresh organic fruit smoothie every morning.

Currently, I am sipping on a combination of:

Strawberries
1 Kiwi
Green Grapes
1 Avocado
1 Mandarin Orange
2 Blood Oranges
Coconut Water
Soy Milk

{fruit photographer}

Happy Friday!

xox Peace, Love, & Unicorns

boy + glitteratti + cosmetics = not gay

Guy Working In A Cosmetics Store/Salon: I wish I were a hairstylist.
Girl Working at Cosmetics Store/Salon: Maybe you should pursue that career. The schooling doesn't take long.
Guy Working In A Cosmetics Store/Salon: WHAT!!?? Everyone would think I am gay...
Girl Working at Cosmetics Store/Salon: And... they don't have any suspicions when you wear chick's denim and a sparkly, rhinestone encrusted star-shaped belt buckle??
Guy Working In A Cosmetics Store/Salon: oh... right.

Starting Over @ 26 - Take 1

I just told my boss that I do not feel she is supportive of me.

I told her that I am not comfortable communicating with her due to the fact that she blows me off and is unwilling to hear me out when it comes to certain subject matters.

I told her that I feel somewhat sabotaged by her concerns and motive.

I meant what I said.

She took offense.

I can only hope that she will change her outlook just as I did today.

---------------------------------------
Leadership is not something that you learn once & for all. It is an ever-evolving pattern of skills, talents and ideas that grow & change as you do.

----------------------------------------

post title inspired by: SO@24

Crista Chinese Babi

100% white girl

Call me, Paris... I'll let you know what’s up.

with grma at my brothers baptizing. my father got really sick this day and had to be rushed to the emergency room.

the picture still painted in my mind is one of my dad in a wheelchair being wheeled down the middle of the street very quickly.....

note: the Jellies .

Me little bro.

3 things to take note of:

the Diet Pepsi bottle (making a come back in Obamanation),

the wallpaper (i amcurrently lusting over wallpaper after all of these years...),

stonewashed denim (the bro is a trendsetter fo sho)

i've never been shy about exposing a little nipple or panty shot

my life is centered around my hair.

this shot was taken when i was a sophmore in high school...

attending my best friends bachelorette party... she was also a sophmore in high school


Me. 2008


at the Night Hotel. New York. Panty Shot.



inspiration.

xox