9. Japanese Kid Playing the Ukulele

Crazy G.

So, I will immediately acknowledge that this is quite possibly one of the most random things you've seen that makes someone happy, but just wait til you watch. I discovered this little guy today (thanks to a tweet from Andy Roddick...if you are reading this Andy, you played great!) and I can't stop watching.

On to the next installment in my series:

I'm Yours.

9. Japanese Kid Playing the Ukulele
I don't know his name, but he is now 5 years old. He and his mom (??) started playing the ukulele a year ago and initially learned by following along with a television show. The kid can rip it up on a ukulele. He has one of the cutest giggles I've heard and makes the most adorable faces when he starts rocking out. Since he doesn't know English, he sings the sounds that he hears.

As My Guitar Gently Weeps.

Sorry puppies, but I think I've found something else to cure my gloomy days.


Ten Things That Make Me Happy:
10. San Francisco History.

10. San Francisco History.

Scenes shot from a streetcar in SF in 1905. Music by Air...funny how a modern song fits this film so well.

Um, hi. Remember me? You probably forgot that I exist considering I've been missing for 2 weeks now. This blogging thing must be like going to the gym...you miss a few days and it's hell getting back (and you don't even want to hear how long it's been since I was at the gym).

Alison over at Lipstick on Your Teeth thankfully called me out and gave me an assignment. It's my turn to tell you 10 things that make me happy. And since I'm currently in the business of getting as many posts out of as little content as possible, I'll only be posting one at a time. It might be cheating, but at least I know what the next 10 posts will be. Well, sort of. I'm going to try to do this without mentioning ampersands, collage or typography. Ugh. Now on with the show...

10. San Francisco History
I've always been a fan of history, but usually leaned toward history primarily dealing with art. Thanks to Chris' recent injection of San Francisco history into his art (like our little train project), I've been learning more about it. It's so ridiculously interesting. We've totally started dorking out on it. For example, last night, we went to hear a lecture at this incredibly old San Francisco institution, the Mechanics' Institute. With a room full of septuagenarians and their glasses of wine (yes, they serve wine with their lectures! old people still want to party), we listened to SF native Charles Fracchia discuss his book, When the Water Came up to Montgomery Street, and the growth of San Francisco during the Gold Rush.

Let me reference my notes for some interesting tidbits (yes, I took notes. I did say dorking out).

• Did you know that before the Gold Rush, San Francisco only had about 800 residents? It's estimated that 350,00 - 500,000 people migrated to California from 1848-1859.
• There was a period in 1849 when the population of San Francisco doubled every ten days.
• Prior to the 1906 earthquake and the subsequent fire that destroyed the city, San Francisco had already had 6 fires that virtually destroyed the city.
• If you've visited San Francisco, the Embarcadero area and much of South of Market were not here 150 years ago. Those areas are all built on land fill, sand and debris from fires and the 1906 earthquake.

Map of San Francisco from 1849 and one from now. Click to see it bigger.

My favorite tidbit of the night was due to an epiphany Charles had about the unique nature of the City. If you've lived here or visited, there really is something magical about San Francisco. There's an air of limitless potential, hopefulness and inclusivity that you don't find many other places. Charles realized that it's probably due to the way the city was built. It was one of the only cities in modern history that's diverse population came together all at once. During the Gold Rush, people came from all over the world. Within a year, San Francisco already had immigrants from China, Japan, South America, Malaysia and Mexico as well as people of Italian, Irish, German and other heritages. Granted, other cities are just as diverse, but none had it happen virtually over night. Since it's inception, San Francisco has opened its arms to everyone and I love that you still feel that to this day.

Geez...you better hope I'm never away for a month or you will have a novel to read.

Helping Just Got Easier.

Most of you have probably seen this, but if you are looking for way to help those affected by the devastation in Haiti, here's something that will take less than 10 seconds (assuming you are a proficient texter):

Text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross efforts in Haiti.

The donation will be added to your next phone bill and 100% of it will go to relief efforts in Haiti.

My sincere thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti today.

A Bit Premature, Perhaps.

All photos by Kevin Cooley, found via Kitsune Noir.

I know...two photography posts in a row. It's like I'm getting lazy or something (thank you for ignoring the fact that my last post was on Friday!). I'm becoming a bit photo obsessed since I've been out and about with my camera so much as of late. I had three different shoots this weekend...one for AT, one for Ohdeedoh and another for the San Francisco Arts Commission. It's fun and I'm learning so much with every shoot (and acquiring more and more camera gear along the way), but then I see stuff like this and, well, le sigh...I'm starting to sound like the Jealous Curator (which you should totally check out if you haven't before). But alas, that's why one of my 2010 resolutions is to take my photography more seriously.

Speaking of resolutions, I'm doing somewhat better than expected thus far. Here's an update (assuming you are even slightly interested):

1. Travel more. - Haven't left the city yet, but planning a trip to NYC in April.
2. Eat with intention. - Um, no.
3. Design and collage more. - Nope.
4. Take my photography to the next level. - Signed up for class, interning with SFAC!
5. Be realistic with expectations of myself and my time. - Working on it.
6. Collaborate with Chris on another project (or two). - Already met with a collaborator!
7. Be more confident in myself and my abilities. - Applied to grad school! Finally!
8. Read more books and watch less tv. - I have two design books I'm reading.
9. Actively pursue my career goals. - Yep, grad school! Yay! MBA in Design Strategy at CCA!
10. Run another marathon. - I guess running would be a good start.
11. Call my mom more often. - Does email count for something?
12. Spend more time in the kitchen. - That might require groceries.
13. Go on more dates with my husband. - We just had a lovely Sunday!
14. Always appreciate my wonderful life. - Definitely!
15. Cultivate my personal style. - That would require more clean clothes...
16. Regularly update my blog. - Crap.
17. Find a good synonym for more. - Additional? Supplementary?

I really shouldn't be patting myself on the back too much. It is only January 12th after all.