Travel Ahead!

Just found out I'm going to Thailand and Dubai!!! More to come soon :)!

New Web Site

My newest website focuses on my love of photographing street art around the world. Updates will be added on a per project basis, but I have a cool selection on there right now.

Really happy with it: http://shiraphotos.carbonmade.com

It's been a long time...Random dribbbles

I have all but abandoned my blog, for reason's I don't know. I enjoy writing and posting pictures and sharing stories of things that have happened, but a blog sometimes feel's like a diary, and I don't keep diaries anymore. I guess it's kinda what Talulah Bankhead said, "good girls keep diaries, the bad one's don't have time." Just kidding, I'm far from a 'bad one,' but I guess I just haven't had a lot of time lately to write. Which is weird, because I read all the time, probably 3-4 books a week...I guess that just show I enjoy reading more than writing. The Story of Junk by Linda Yablonsky was a really eerie, first-hand account of a heroine addict-great book. A lighter tale, but warming to the heart was The Mermaid's Chair by Sue Monk Kidd...a fictional story about love, loss and what life is all about. Let's see then there is all the chick lit I read for fun when I don't get to catch up on my girly tv shows, I supplement it with those haha.

I guess I never realized how much I enjoyed reading, or maybe I took it for granted. I think people just assume if you like to read you also like to write, but reading is much easier. It's someone else's thoughts on paper, giving you the freedom to let your mind wonder. Maybe I will start writing reviews on the books I've read....or maybe not. I should have wrote entries for all the amazing trips I took this summer, but it was hard for me to put in words. I'll upload some pictures soon (my computers to slow to do it right now), since i always seem to better express myself through photos =)

Paris Photos...Voila!

Paris was interesting....scenic and demure, but at the same time full of pushy panhandlers...gotta see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Louve (even though they are a bit touristy). Amazing baguette sandwiches, crepes and croissants everywhere. Go for the food and the scenery, overlook some of the people hahahaha

Mas Pictures of Madrid!

Viva Madrid!

Madrid is an amazing city.....churros and chocolate, tortilla, gazpacho, sangria and more types of tapas than I can list! The city really comes alive at night, but the architecture and the vibe of the city is felt all day through =)

Photo Exhibit Photos Are Up On The Website

Check it out:

http://www.photomanhattan.com/students137.htm

Yay!!! So much fun. It was a really good expereince and I learned a lot!

Oh and here is a pic from Halloween just for fun. Can you guess who I am?

Photo Exhibit

Come to my photo exhibition this Wed. 10/27 @ 51 W. 14th Street b/t 5th and 6th Ave. Buzz #2R. I will be exhibiting 6 photos and there will be a lot of great photos to see....snacks and wine are free courtesy of photo manhattan =)!

I Love My Hair

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enpFde5rgmw

You know you're from NYC if...

1. You say "Yous" as in "the two of yous"
2. J-walk like it's your job
3. Men: Talk to girls and convince them they need to be with you "Ay shorty..."
4. When responding to a question someone asks, say "yea yea yea"
5. Ride the subway while cutting your nails, drinking a cup of coffee and listening to your ipod on full blast
6. Ask for a pie or a slice, not a pizza...and it's plain, not cheese
7. You either love or hate the Yankees, there is no in between
8. You know what Alphabet City is...and you avoid Avenue D at night alone
9. Stoop sitting is looked at as a great option to a bench
10. You've never been to the Statue of Liberty

Pictures For My Photo Exhibition (Some of them)

Photos for my exhibition on people in their working environments

An Assortment of My Pictures

Hollywood’s Next Great Nightspot

As seen on UrbanDaddy.com

Hemingway’s

6356 Hollywood Blvd

(at Ivar)

Los Angeles, CA 90028

323-469-0040

Hollywood has always looked to books for inspiration. Some of which were not even written by Stephenie Meyer.


And now Johnny Zander, the nightlife superhero who brought you Teddy’s and Green Door, has turned books into... cocktails.


Introducing Hemingway’s, a showstopping new bar with the potential to be the city’s next great hangout, officially opening Tuesday on Hollywood Boulevard.


Basically, this place looks like a party spot disguised as a library—just where you’d find Hemingway if he were still around today and socializing with TV actresses instead of expats. (You’ll settle for the actresses, though—Zander and film-producer partners Elie Samaha and Donald Kushner will put you in industry-heavy company.)


So on those nights when you want a well-mixed drink and a bit of a scene, you’ll step past the Hollywood Boulevard grunge and through the indoor-outdoor foyer, and come to a large room with comfortable old couches, thousands of books in the walls and pillars, and a whole wall covered with vintage typewriters. And a DJ booth.


As you bask in the upscale Dead Poets Society of it all, you’ll want to order a Moveable Feast (rye whiskey, sage, lemon, honey and berries). Or for something a bit more Keys-y, there’s the Old Man and the Sea, which is sort of a thinking person’s mojito.

We don’t recommend the Ketchum, Idaho.


Note: Hemingway’s, officially opens this Tuesday, open Tuesdays through Fridays, 6pm-2am, 323-469-0040

Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich and Martha Stewart (Oh My)!

Job. Check. Food celebs galor. Check. Feelin' the heat of the kitchen. Check. Who knew working at a restaurant in one of the biggest openings of NYC history would be, well, so much work. Now, I'm all for work. I can roll up my sleeves and and do what needs to be done, but this place is crazy. Yes folks, I'm talking about Eataly, my new home away from home. I've spent copious amounts of time there the past week and half, working my butt off (literally, I think I've lost 5-10 lbs) to help them get this new venture up off the ground. But the thing is, I'm only a server. The serving staff, myself included, are doing so much to help this place run smoothly, i.e, devoting over 60 hours of our life a week while they interview and hire more folks. It is tiring, but that's okay. It is fun draining, but I can deal. What I can't deal with is 14 hour double shifts, and a manager that tells me if all I get is a 15 minute break I need to deal with it. Deal with it? Um, sir, I believe that is against the law. I mean, I'm no lawyer, but the last time I checked, it wasn't 1920 and labor laws are pretty well established. All right, all right, I think I've aired the bad news enough for today....it is ultimately my choice if I want to stick this new venture out while they work out the kinks...or I can of course find a new gig. It's a tough world out there though, even more tough when the idea of making sandwiches for a some cash starts sounding more appealing than working at a celeb-chef owned, world-class restaurant. Oh the humanity.

I've Got The Looking For A Job Blues

NYC is fun, exciting and fresh. There is so much to do and definitely not enough time to do it all. First things first, I need to find a job. Well, a little more than just a job. You see, I can walk into just a store, or just a restaurant and make above minimum wage doing this job or that, but it is a lot more difficult trying to get a good job. One that doesn't have a person working for nickels. In this city, people settle for whatever they can get, which means that they often end up having to work two jobs or more just to pay the rent. And the rent is going towards a 500 sqft. studio that you share with another person...okay, it's not that bad, but it can be. City life is tough. I'm going to do my best to find a good job, really I am, but if you see me behind the counter making your sandwich, don't laugh, okay?

Please Read All The Facts-People Pass So Much Judgement And Usuaully Know Nothing

Let me get this straight: when an Israeli soldier uploads a facebook picture with Palestinian prisoners (they were arrested, keep in mind, not just captured randomly), the story makes headline news and draws international criticism. But when Palestinians chuck rocks at Israeli soldiers and civilians, bomb civilian targets, and force millions of people in southern Israel to live in terror EVERY DAY, nobody cares. There is no international outcry when a bomb falls in Ashdod, but when a soldier posts a facebook picture with prisoners, she is scolded around the world.-Mark N., Yahoo News

NYC Here I Come (Again)

My life feel's like it is a little bit crazy and a lot a bit wonderful. I have been blessed with the ability to do so many wonderful things this summer, and I have also been blessed to be some how given the time to really figure out what I want to do with my life. I am so excited for this next journey which includes moving back to NYC and heading to Spain for a month!
Nine times out of then when I talk to someone about their job they are unhappy. It makes me so sad that I don't even bring up work in conversations anymore. I think it's crazy that in our society our jobs or careers define us. I am trying to break that mold and really just be defined by my actions. I love every moment of my life and thank god that I have been given the life I have!

Woman wakes up to find intruder in bed REMIX

Fooooddd, Hash House--a-gO-gO & mOOtime

Fun times on my socal food tour haha. Pictures using my new dslr!!!!!!! More to come...............

Top Ten on Hiking John Muir Woods

The other day me and two of my best friends hiked in John Muir Woods, which is in Marin County. After a hell raising adventure finding parking, we traipsed up a 3 mile loop (half uphill). We saw a huge deer and lots and lots of redwoods. It was gorgeous and different from my everyday bay area hanging out. I definitely recommend it if you've never been, or if you'll be in the San Francisco area.

1. Feel one with nature
2. See animals close-up that you've only seen on animal planet
3. Get exercise while having the prettiest views
4. Feel a thousand miles away from city life
5. Nicely placed benches just when you're ready for a break
6. Feeling like an ant among natures greatest giants
7. Instant stress reliever
8. Easy to difficult hiking trails
9. Picture friendly
10. Ample bathrooms