Okay, last post of the Day!

This is me and Carly - I thought I would put a picture up of her and I since I will be picking her up tonight from the airport!

Okay. In order for me to get up-to-date on what I have been up to out here, I'm going to try to make a list and paraphrase... I know I get SO long winded, and really. Not everyone wants to read that. Here, I will try:

A couple weeks ago I got to hold the boom mic/be a personal assistant for a day - for a movie producer Ken Kokin, who is putting together a little film about TOMS. I got to follow him around all day and watch him interview different TOMS full-timers, who shared their experiences on the shoe drop, or how they came to TOMS, etc. It was an amazing day - I got emotional when a couple people talked... especially when Liza was interviewed. Liza is who I report to daily and the one I have been working with the closest. She is amazing and I have learned so much from her and I've kind of taken her on as my mentor... And, it was just so emotional for me to hear her accounts of South Africa. And I loved hanging around Ken, he is a riot!!

One weekend, a bunch of us went out in Hollywood. We went to the Hotel Cafe and then went to a place called the Beauty Bar. The Hotel Cafe is a great place to hear a wide variety of live music. While we were there we heard three different performers - and they all were pretty good! Everyone should know by now how much I love to hear live music, so it was a really great night. Then at the Beauty Bar, we met up with a couple other friends and danced for the rest of the night. The bar offered a wide variety of people - Definitely not like a bar in Nebraska or Minnesota! It was very interesting.

Last week I took my first run on the beach boardwalk! I took off from our condo at Playa Vista and headed towards the beach - Once I got there, I realized how far it was to run back - I think it ended up being a 4 mile run. It was awesome to get some fresh air and actually get in a really good work out, which I have been needing. I personally hate running outside - I'm usually a treadmill girl. But, running next to the beach is a real treat - I absolutely loved it! I can't wait until we move out of the condo and move closer to the beach (We are moving sometime next week!)

Discovering new music has been a big thing for me since being here. I have been exposed to so many different types of music because of the people I am around and the culture here in LA. I have been listening to such a huge variety: from rap/hip hop/latino dance music to Christian artists, from techno to soft rock, from pop to country... I'm pretty much listening to it all and loving it. I love being able to connect favorite songs to moments in time and associating moments with music. Here are my recent favorites:

1. Phil Wickham - True Love
2. Paramore - My Heart
3. Shawn McDonald - Take My Hand
4. Metro Station - Shake it
5. Pitbull - The Anthem
6. M.I.A. - Paper Planes
7. Missy Higgins - Nightminds and Unbroken
8. Rilo Kiley - Money maker and Dreamworld
9. Lupe Fiasco - Supestar and Sunshine
10. Regina Spektor - Hotel song
11. The Ting Tangs - Great DJ
12. The Walkmen - We've been had

The first 7 or songs remind me of certain moments here in California and the rest have been suggested to me by my roomies, co-workers and friends from home. Mr. Dan Fly put together a huge list of songs for me to check out and he pretty much knew my taste of music to a T - I have enjoyed everything he has suggested - Its been a really good music week for me. Music makes me happy. :)

I finally finished Blue Like Jazz on Sunday, and now I have started two new books. Erwin's Soul Cravings and Sex God, which is another one of Abbi's suggestions. So far, I like both. I've read two chapters of both and look forward to continue reading! Wow, I really enjoy reading!! It is amazing what you discover when TV is taken away! haha But seriously, if I had TV I probably wouldn't be able to listen to as much music as I do, or read as much as I do - So, thank you TOMS for not giving us TV!

I recently rented Into the Wild with a friend, and I suggest that everyone see it. I think there are a lot of lessons to learn from his experiences and the main thing that I took from it, is that there is no happiness unless it is shared. :)

The last thing I will write about, is the "Visit California" commercial that I recently saw. When my family was here, I got a little TV time and one of the commercials was this one... Go to www.visitcalifornia.com and click on the "Visit California Video" link... and You will see why it made me smile.

I think I am all blogged out for awhile. I'm going to continue to TRY harder on keeping up with this thing, so that my posts aren't this long each time!

Much Love - I miss and love everyone who is not here and who I have not seen in a very long time.

-Kirsten aka Kirken aka K-Fed aka KJ aka Kirken Marie