Perks of the job: VIPs at Janelle Monae's private concert

Last night Mark and I enjoyed some perks of his job. There was a concert at Apogee (the company where Mark works), and we were invited for free. This is the studio before the show started. We got VIP access complete with sparkly wristbands and an open bar with beer and wine. 

Here's Mark with Devin, the other intern at Apogee. What a handsome team.

This is the control room at the Apogee studio. Notice the lovely color scheme going on here. All purples, reds and pinks. 

Ready for the show! We got to Janelle Monae perform, and she was amazing. I hadn't heard of her before, but now Mark has bought two of her albums, and we're jamming out to her now! 

Janelle had SO much energy. It was so fun seeing her perform. I asked her at the end if she needed another dancer for her team. She said she'd call me. And then I realized she didn't have my number. Dang! For those of you that know child-Jessica's aspiration to become a Fly Girl, you know how much I'd love to be dancing on stage. Maybe she'll find my number somewhere and call...

This is the after-concert interview. The concert was sponsored by KCRW radio, Santa Monica's local NPR station. I also asked this guy if he needed an assistant. He gave me his card. It's all about connections.

Here's another shot of Mark. I gave him a hair cut yesterday, which we're calling a "bob". It's hard to see because he has a hat on, but I think I did an okay job for my first hair cut. 

And now, two videos! The first is much better and less shaky. The second video is the last song she did, the encore. They were throwing balloons around, too. It was a fun time! I was trying to tap a balloon back into the crowd, and I accidentally hit (very lightly hit) the lady in front of me. I immediately apologized, but she was not happy. I don't think she was really vibing with the show as much as the rest of the crowd, anyway. Geez, lighten up!

Janelle Monae Live 1 from hey jessica on Vimeo.

Janelle Monae Live 2 from hey jessica on Vimeo.

And we're cooking!

    

As I'm sure you can imagine, Mark and I are thrilled to have our cookware with us. Mark cooked for me Wednesday night. Isn't he sweet? He cooked turkey kielbasa with bell pepper, onion, tomato and garlic. We also had a side of black beans. Here's the master at work in our homey kitchen.

We're cooking with fire here! Here's the finished meal, complete with a tasty Heineken Light. Now I'm off to meet Mark for lunch at La Petite Cafe.

Fried update: Last night Mark and I went to eat sushi at Kaido, our favorite spot a few blocks away. A familiar person entered with two friends, and we quickly realized she was a waitress from a cafe we've eaten at a few times. She was very friendly while serving us the other times, and we knew from chatting that she's an artist. We talked with her and her friends before leaving the restaurant last night and exchanged information. Her boyfriend lives here, too, and he's a recording engineer, so it sounds like he and Mark have similar interests. We're going to get together with them soon, if all goes well. Yay, friendships in the making! :)

Making Progress

Here's Mark in our studio! We've got two desks, two chairs, artwork, an easel, instruments, computers and nice speakers. We've got it all! Watch the video below, for a sneak-peek at the studio.

Glimpse at the Studio from hey jessica on Vimeo.

Last, but certainly not least, I'm happy to say my books have a comfy home! This is my bookshelf from IKEA. It's twice the size of my old one, but basically the same model. I love it...

All settled in...sort of...

Well, Mark and I successfully made the long drive across I-40 West without killing each other. Yay! We stopped in Oklahoma City the first night, Albuquerque the second night and Kingman (Arizona) the third night. We arrived to lovely Santa Monica on Thursday around 1 p.m. (Pacific time).

Sorry it took me so long to post pictures! I will post more once all my furniture is set up and everything's in order. Right now I'm sitting on the floor because I'm tired of the chairs and there's no couch. :)

Here's the apartment building from the outside. Basically what you see of the second floor (the top floor) is all ours. The window on the far right is from our dining room area (it's not a separate room, more like a breakfast nook), the window to the left of that one is from our kitchen, the next left window (covered up by the trees) is from the bathroom, and the far left window (also covered by trees) is the "office" or second bedroom. Our bedroom is actually around the corner on the left, behind the office.

If you walk down the walkway on the right in the first picture, you'll come around back. Those stairs take you to our place, which is the door that you can partially see in this picture.

This is the living room, and it's actually bigger than what you see. The front door is on the right, and as you can see we are still assembling/gathering furniture. That desk on the left is mine from IKEA, and it was $25 (and I had a coupon for $25 off, so it was basically free!). The lamp is from IKEA, too, and in the boxes are books and two dining room chairs that are awaiting assembly. :)

This picture is taken from the kitchen looking into the dining area. To the left (out of the picture) is the living room, which leads to the bedrooms and bathroom.

This is the kitchen! I haven't been able to cook yet because my pots and pans, etc., are all in boxes at a friend's house in Miami, but I will get them soon. I'm lucky to have such great friends to help me out. Thanks guys!

Here's the bathroom. The shower-head is detachable, which I like, and there's tons of storage here (in the bathroom and just in general). Our apartment in Miami only had ONE closet, the one in the bedroom for our clothes. This place has four closets and more cabinets and nooks and crannies in the bathroom for storage. I'm loving that!

And last but not least, here's our bedroom. We've actually moved stuff around since I took the picture, so as I said, I will take more soon and post the updates.

So far we have found a local Chinese place that has $5 DINNER take-out (what?!), an Indian restaurant that delivers to us (and is delicious!), a bar within walking distance that has a pool table and yummy fish tacos, and a Mexican restaurant with huge meals and great margaritas.

Mark started his job yesterday, and he's really liking it so far! First days are always hard because there's so much to learn, but I think his second day is going more smoothly and he's getting into his routine. I packed him lunch this morning and sent him off! :)

Love to all from the west coast.

j

Salsa!

Mark and his mom, Melanie, salsa dancing in our apartment.


Salsa: Mark and Melanie from hey jessica on Vimeo.

The Graduate

Mark has worked extremely hard in school the past few years. I can attest to his many late nights studying, perfecting projects and (sometimes obsessively) solving problems. I am so proud of how many cool projects he's been a part of, and I'm even more proud that he has a new opportunity in California working for a company that shares his passion for audio engineering. 

From left to right: Melanie (Mark's mom), Michael (Mark's dad), Elaine (Mark's godmother), Corinne (Mark's grandmother), and Joe (Mark's best friend).

We are all seated waiting for the graduates to walk out.

Click on this picture to make it bigger if you want. This is the Bank United Center where the graduation took place; we are still waiting for the graduates.

Mark is on the big screen on the left. He just shook hands with the UM president as he walked across the stage. Isn't he so handsome?

The Freeman family after graduation. 

The whole group! From left to right: Joe, Elaine, Mark, Joe (again, other best friend), Melanie, Steve (Mark's uncle), and Corinne. 

Mark is showing us his picture on the electrical engineering graduates' board. 

Me and the graduate in our apartment. Congratulations! 

More pictures coming later. I took an overload of photos this past weekend, so I'm only putting them up in increments. 

Also, Mark and I are leaving Miami on Saturday. We should make it to Nashville by Sunday! I would love to see all of you before we drive out west. We will most likely leave the following Saturday to start our cross-country trek. Very exciting! But miles to go before I sleep. (Thanks, Robert Frost!)

"until the sun comes up over Santa Moni-coco-of-life"

Mark and I just got back from Santa Monica, California. We got there on Thursday and came back on the red-eye flight last night/this morning. We went to look for a place to live, since Mark just got a job in Santa Monica.

Once we got from the Los Angeles airport to Santa Monica, we drove through the hills and looked at all the wonderful, new sights! We stopped on this lovely hill to stretch our legs and get some fresh air.

Here's Mark on the same hill talking to his mom.

Then we found this beach, it's a state park in Santa Monica, but now I've forgotten the name. Mark is there in the distance, and I am, of course, snapping pictures left and right.

On that same beach, Mark and I wandered upon this set. We asked some girls on the beach what was happening, and they told us that they were filming a Jonas Brothers music video there. That made this our second celebrity sighting that day. That morning, on our flight from Miami to Los Angeles, we were on the plane with Hulk Hogan's (ex?) wife and son. I didn't get a picture of them; sorry Chels!   :(

Cool beach flowers.

Palm trees are much bigger in California!

Our delicious (and VERY affordable) lunch at Kaido in Santa Monica.

Sipping on some green tea before apartment hunting. 

Orienting ourselves to the west coast.

The roller coaster and ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier. At the pier, there are games, artists, musicians, rides, food and tourist shops. At the end of the pier people fish, and it's very breezy. The water here is much colder than in Florida, which cools down the air a lot.

Mark in front of the Apogee building, his future place of employment. We went out to lunch with a few of the engineers on Friday, and everyone seems really nice and inviting. His office is pretty cool, also. We got a tour of the place, and they even have a recording studio in the back of the building. Mark wishes he could start working today!