My #adventures at a Flea Market...

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @JenSquard

Our little(ish) town has a flea market!  We had a “swap meet” for awhile, which was sort of just a wannabe flea market.  It was pretty trashy with only a few cool booths so it didn’t so much make it.  Now we have a new one (things like this just don’t survive well in our town, we’re more of a farmer’s market kind of place), and I’ve heard quite a bit about it, so after a photo shoot while I still had camera glued to face I headed over to check it out.  

Yeah, not at all what I expected.  I’m not sure what I expected, really, but I’ve seen flea markets on TV and such, so of course I’m the expert...or not.  There were about 20 different vendors (I’m gonna go ahead and use that term VERY loosely), and there was quite the variety.  Some of them were basically just big yard sales.  Seriously, old crap, rusty knives, broken jewelry, dirty everything.  And they had even taken the time to put prices on this crazy shit!  Some were handmade things, like the one booth that had a thousand snowmen, all handmade, and all creepy.  There was a lady selling strange little doggie quasi-sweaters.  Other booths were just offering a collection of things that they had obviously bought from somewhere else, like a hispanic dollar store supply store, or a bead warehouse.  Here are some of the beauties that were laid out for me:

Apparently these are called Hedge Balls, and have a reputation for repelling spiders and other insects.  From what I can tell they are indigenous to Iowa (and as a biologist I can tell you it is not smart to bring other species of plants or animals into their non-native habitat - bad things tend to happen).

  I'm thinking about wearing this one to work out in....

I'm thinking they used a blowup doll as the model for the pinata?This made me laugh so hard I cried!Cologne bottles that look like cars, duh.

Pretty much sums it up.....

 I did find several things that I definitely didn’t expect, like a wedding dress.  Or women’s panties sold by the pair by a strange old man.  New?  Used?  Stolen?  Who knows?  What about the snake in a jar?  WTF dood?  The room full of half-used paint cans, like interior and exterior house paint, was definitely unexpected (but it was in the Man Cave, and there was some weird shit in there).  But my favorite?  The full chess set made from cologne bottles.  This man inherited a HUGE collection of Avon cologne and perfume “collectibles”.  Cars, bullets, coins, mailboxes, footballs, eagles, sparkplugs, frogs, buildings, and people, all turned into brownish cologne bottles.  He was totally like the Bubba Gump of Avon collectibles - he started naming all of the things that Avon has made that is now a collectible.  He even showed me the catalog.  Yikes.  

Oh, and you can totally get a massage at the flea market.  Um....

#NoThanks

Follow me on Twitter - maybe you'll be my new BFF! @JenSquard

#Randombling: That Nerdy Chick

Randombling: A 5 minute long unedited random stream of consciousness produced by a nerd for nerds.

#nowplaying: Angel- Jack Johnson

Wow, crazy emotional day ... SOO!! I have a shit ton of meetings that I've been juggling for the last month or so - today, I'm just taking up shop at the Corner Bakery by the Beverly Center in LA, and just asking people to meet me here. It's weird not having a car. But super super super grateful that @maniacalmorgan works at the Coffee Bean and was able to give me a ride into LA. Dude, the valley = middle of noooowwhhheereee ... bahhh! I digress ... 

Today's a big day. We're getting our first batch of notes on our marketing outline and pilot script. So so so much just blood sweat and tears has gone into this thing from day one. It's so rad to watch it all just kinda click now. At the same time, I'm meeting with another team today to talk to them about documenting the next leg of this journey. I dig lifecasting so so so much - but I can't keep doing it all myself. It's not only exhausting, it's not really the whole objective truth. I want to have someone, somewhere document it a bit more objectively than I can. 2011 is going to be a trippy, trippy ride ... and I want it done right.

I emailed AOL again the other day too ... I love those people, I really really really do ... but they're all just too big for their own good. It's taking SOOOO long! And I don't have any more time. Dude, I met with them at the end of September!!!! Come on, man! I know I'm not your priority, but I'm my priority - and I will absolutely figure out a way to execute this goal. I have a team in place, and we're ready go ... I just don't know if my expectations are skewed being in this space or what - but we're all about getting shit done. I haul ass every.single.day. It's just what we do ... we all thrive off of each other's energy, and I love that at any hour of the day, someone somewhere in my social media network is working too. Keeps me going ... 

On top of all of that today, the person that doesn't want their name or illness mentioned but is incredibly incredibly incredibly close to me, had to go in and get their first round of treatments today. So trippy. It's not even that this person has this disease, it's that this person is like MY person. That rock, that constant. This person is crazy stupid young to have this happen, and - wow, I'm totally tearing up in the middle of the coffee shop even thinking about this ... I just, can't believe it. *Whew breathe Jen breathe* 

So yeah! Talk about a CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY emotional rollercoaster. I'm so excited and so anxious for this afternoon, and this person just had to go through treatment. Are you kidding me?!? Just gotta compartmentalize as much as possible, and focus on the here and the now. This person has this happening ... awesome sauce. Buddha says, to live is to suffer. We're all dying, some just sooner than others. And again, this person isn't dying any more than you or I ... just has to go through some pretty gnarly shit over the next year or so. Crazy. I won't let it take over my life, and TRUST me this person won't allow it to either. We're not even calling it the actual disease name ... my family made up a nickname for it, which is super cute. But yeah ... crazy time. I should be celebrating and all that, but all the only emotion I can really conjure up is gratitude. I am grateful from the depths of my soul in my last 4 lifetimes. I could kiss the sky, it feels so good to be alive. But man ... what a ride. 

And yeah ... that is all. K ... thanks ... bye ... 

PS. the guy on the laptop in front of me is totally trying to figure out a way to pick me up. It's pretty funny actually. OMG he totally just did the arm stretch. HAHAHAHA!! He's a PC user ... so its totes mcgotes never going to happen. There's no way I'm going to let him access my hard drive with that kinda software. Sheesh ... 

Why I named my #daughter Anika

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @JenSquard

I knew I was having a girl from early on in my pregnancy, I could just feel it.  And I had NO idea what to name her.  Not even a little bit.  I liked the name Pearl, but apparently I am in the minority on that one.  We got pregnant on our honeymoon in Fiji, so we threw some names around about the local culture, and things that we loved about our honeymoon.  The most awesome thing about Fiji (besides it being Fiji and amazing) is that they sing-talk.  Instead of just saying "Bula, Jen.  Bula, Brian." which means hello, they kinda sing it.  But Bula...not a cute name for a baby girl.

We did meet an amazing couple from Sweden, which is where Brian's family originated (hence the weird last name of Swedhin).  Their names were Anica and Bjorn.  Bjorn was in a diving accident in his 20's and was confined to a wheelchair with no use of his lower half.  Anica was amazing with him, she lifted him when he needed it, stayed back when he couldn't participate in an activity, and was incredibly patient and supportive.  They were on their honeymoon, too. 

I wanted a name that conveyed kindness and strength, that was unique but not made up, and was easy to say.  Well I got some of those qualities since no one can pronounce Anika right (try this - Aunicka).  For a middle name we went with Piper.  In Ecuador, the birthplace of our lovestory, Brian and I studied the caterpillars that fed on Piperacea, a beautiful plant with heart-shaped leaves. 

So there it is.  Anika Piper.  She is fiesty, bold, emotionally receptive and incredibly expressive.  She is also stubborn and smart.  And I sweet ass dancer!

You likey what I say-ey? Why not follow me on Twitter? @JenSquard

#Randombling: @JenSquard

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @JenSquard

Randombling: A 5 minute long unedited random stream of consciousness produced by a nerd for nerds.

#nowplaying: What's My Name - Rhinanna

Wow, for reals.  This weekend went GREAT!  So super great.  The inlaws that I was nervous about seeing (checky check out the reasons here) were really nice to me.  Like way nice.  It was great, and they acted like nothing ever happened.  I got a little bit of an apology, and they thanked me for even coming.  I think they just appreciated that I was willing to come and put it all behind us and wasn't just a total doucher. 

So glad that Thanksgiving is over.  Now I can go back to just living my life and pretending that things are normal.  The best part of every day is watching my 3-year-old daughter dirty dance in her princess dress.  I swear, I have no idea where she learned these dance moves...some friends from high school say it must be genetic.  I don't know, but damn, that girl's got it going on! 

And yeah, life has just been so good lately that I feel like something shitty might happen anytime.  That's a terrible way to think about things, I know, but that is totally how this year has gone - not much has been right.  But damn, everything has been so good the last couple of weeks!  let me break it down: I ordered my SpiritHood, I didn't have to cook Thanksgiving, Brian got an unexpected vacation payout from his old job, my mom gave me some $$ to buy the sweetest camera EVERRRRRR, and my Grandpa just handed me $200 just because.  Right???  Things are so good!  I am finally feeling like we can actually start to enjoy life and stop just surviving. 

And while I thought I would just die without internet this weekend, it was actually kind of nice.  I zigged and zagged my way through emails and FB on my phone, so I wasn't totally cut off, just enough to make me miss it.  Absense makes the heart grow fonder, and I feeling quite fond of you right now, internet.  Why don't we light some vanilla mint candles, poor a couple glasses of something fermented, and get sweaty on each others faces. 

#KTHXBYE

I cheat on Facebook with Twitter: @JenSquard

#Randombling: That Nerdy Chick

Randombling: A 5 minute long unedited random stream of consciousness produced by a nerd for nerds.

#nowplaying: Kids, Sleigh Bells

AH! So much going through my head ... What a crossroad. These next few weeks are going to say a whole lot about my entire first quarter of next year.

First off, on Monday - I'm going to start making some phone calls to the casting peeps at the Focus Rally. I need to figure out where I am going to live next, as things with the now TV show are picking up (remember, the feature film got turned into a pilot? Yeah! Cool shit man!), and if I don't get the Rally I need to be more centrally located to Hollywood since as of December, I won't have a car anymore either. My registration is up entirely on that thing now. So I've pushed the limit on driving it until the end of November, but for reals ... driving without insurance or registration is just retarded. I am about milking the system, not setting myself up for a really gnarly lawsuit. That being said, I need to plot my next move within the next 2 weeks. If I get the Focus Rally, I won't necessarily need to be in Hollywood - would just need to get a storage unit for a bit to throw all my things in. Maybe I can do another down size and just get a locker somewhere. Hmmmmmm ... Dude, plus I'd get 10Gs for doing the show. Is the experience alone not the most amazing thing ever ... really? You're giving us money too? Epic. I can totally use that to pay some debt.

It's gonna suck to not have a car, but again - if I'm just centrally located enough ... I can figure the rest out. I just can't live alllll the way in the valley and make it to all the meetings that I know I'll have to be taking. You just have to be prepared. That's all luck is, is opportunity meeting preparation. I'm one of the most prepared people alive. FOR REALLLLSSSS. I'm always on my toes thinking 10 steps ahead. I have to be. It's my thing.

I'm also going to follow up with Playboy this week, as I know they were looking to start with their project for first quarter. Working for them would be AHHH-MAAZZINNGGG!!! I know there is some serious cross nerdy loving that we could do. I'm pretty excited.

Either way, I just have to close a few of these open doors just to see what is up. 2010 was the creation of all of this story. 2011 is going to be all about what's next, and explaining the lifecasting formula to as many people that will listen. I know this shit works, but I am sooooo not interested in money or running the financial components of a business. Don't get me wrong, I'm a saleswoman ... HAHA! I am AWESOME at upselling. But after a year of living with $10 to my name, I just discovered none of it means anything anyway. Now having all this money next year STILL won't really interest me, but it will give me a foundation to do some pretty cool stuff that I haven't had this year in a physical sense. My only address has been this domain. Even though I loved it, learned a lot, and told a great story - it has to have better structure to it. I got the attention I wanted ... now I just have to step up to my own plate.

So yeah ... gonna be a busy week. I'm pretty stoked. YAYY!!!!

OH AND before I go, you HAVE to hear this song from Skins, which is this big UK show coming to MTV - its in the :30 TV spot and I'm in LOOVVEEEEE!!

Thanks again for finding the vid @Wibblenut!

Night night lovers!!!

xoxo

#NerdsUnite