what's good

I'm in Philly. The iladelph... Gone back to where I came from, hoping to grow some roots that will ground me for a while. Hoping that there is enough here this time to keep me from growing bored. The passport that I'm so proud has extra pages, won't be getting as much use for now, but that doesn't mean that miss koco is adventure-less. The past few weeks have been filled with cultural events and good times in the streets.

For the time being I have the luxury to leisurely wander around town, popping into this place, grabbing another cup of tea, picking up something sweet at a bakery, or browsing through a book shop for as long as I choose. I went over to Moore College of Art & Design and saw a show in their gallery of Mary McFadden dresses that were gorgeous. I love the way she uses that signature fabric of hers. I wouldn't mind owning one, or a few, of her pieces.


Last night I visited the Philly Fringe Festival's Bar for the second time this week. It's in a warehouse at 5th and Faimount and they are showing the most bizarre films. It's huge and a bit dusty, but a nice set up. There's some odd thing int he corner that looks like a Stargate portal, and lots of people that seem to be inspired by the unique strangeness that belongs only to the fringe. This means that there's good people watching and a handful of lone dancers funking to their own personal inner groove despite the beat and tempo of the musical selection. I was one of those people after one bevi too many over the weekend.

I'm happy to say I got a good amount of fringe in this year. Last week I went to a magic show with Randy Shine in How to Write a Magic Show in One Week or Less, showing at Grasso's Magic Theater. The new theater is adorable. JUST SO ADORABLE. I want a show there. Not a magic show, but some kind of excitement.

There were only 4 of us in the audience, but it was a pretty good magic act. Randy does some craziness with some thimbles and the other dude in the show did this one "surrealist magic" piece that I really enjoyed where he was humming the Girl from Ipanema while pulling handfuls of cards out of thin air/his sleeve. Then he was talking on the phone which was actually a lobster, i German. It was much cooler in real life than it sounds right now.

Staying in the magic/circus/clown theme I seem to have gotten into recently, I saw the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus in the sanctuary over at Fleisher Art Memorial. They were showing Kinko for President. A dude swallowed some very long metal objects, there was a woman on a tightrope, some wild multi-person juggling, among other fun bits.

On Kinko's site he outlines the things he'd do during his first 100 days in office:
1. Paint the White House. Most likely a multi-colored pattern.
2. Make sure that every city has 24 hour access free public restrooms
3. Get the United States juggling together. Every Monday there will be a weekly juggling workshop on the white house lawn. I will also encourage employers to push a juggling break in the work place. And push for juggling to be included in the Olympics (the last one is because of well paying lobbyists).
4. Hitch a ride on the space shuttle. Although many people argue that I have been spaced out for years, I really want to look out the window and see the Earth as a ball.
5. Bring past administration participants up for war crime trials. In all my years of vagrancy, loitering, public drunkenness, hitch-hiking, pan-handling and living a life of poverty, I was never given leniency by them, why should I give them leniency now.
6. Put peanuts and popcorn into every school lunch room. Organic cotton candy will also be served on Fridays.

I went to the First Person Arts Salon at the Gershman Y on Tuesday. I had a beer, complained, and chatted it up with some of my favorite Phillyheads. They showed a film by Andrew Schwalm (and Co.) on people who fish in the city. I had no idea people did this. I might have seen a few people once upon a time, but I didn't realize how obsessed some people are. Woah.

What else? Hmmm... yeah I've been at Silk City a lot more than I imagined I ever would be. And I keep bumping into the most random individuals. My sister's ex-bf, boys I used to have crushes on in high school, people I went to summer camp with, a guy who taught me how to make origami boxes in 5th grade. So, I'm out and about, making the most of what warm weather is left and all that Philly has to offer.

the door, 1998-1999

For a year I asked people who came to visit me to sign and leave something from their wallet, bag, or purse on my door.

dada news

Mon pere... today in the weekend section of the Philadelphia Inquirer there's an article on his upcoming show Transpersonal. Gotta shout out my pops.
Montgomery County Community College's Multiple Choice Gallery, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. To Oct. 5. Mon-Thu 8-9:30, Fri 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., Sat 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Free. 215-519-7349 or www.mc3.edu.

Also, if you're around for First Friday (TONIGHT!) in Philly, miss koco will be at the show at Dupree Gallery, 703 South 6th Street, from 5-9pm. Come say hello.


Featuring work by:

Lillian Cotton
Dory Doughty
Kristina Klugar,
Philmore Peterson
Natalie Rzucidlo
Nicholas Tridemas

new stuff

I've been busy making stuff and putting things in my etsy shop. I'm particularly in love with my fortune cookie cards.

collecting heroes

I met a woman in Maine this past weekend who raised 13 children. 11 girls, 2 boys. All of them are fascinating and successful individuals. What a feat! I was just in awe meeting her and all her children.

I read a short little piece by Rebecca Walker recently:

Buddhism's teachings on interdependence, compassion, and the cultivation of happiness rather than regret, were just what a mixed race, multi-everything girl needed to hear to feel whole. Buddhism said the fragmentation I felt was an illusion. My essential nature as a human being had never been broken, never been stained. My thoughts about myself were problematic.

But my thoughts could be changed.

And I met a guy named Phil on an island in Thailand. He said to me, "If you're looking for a life partner, just focus on making yourself happy."

I'm collecting heroes. These people, the things they've done, the things they say, they've been stuck in my head. I carry them with me everywhere I go. Thank you.

journals

I keep a lot of journals. Shelves filled with thoughts, ideas, funny stories, doodles, records of trips, and all the silly things I try to work out in my head. I love my blog, but I still love paper. Adding videos and audio is a lot of fun, but nothing beats writing with my favorite fountain pen.
I've come to believe that travel wouldn't be as much fun without a glue stick. Colored pencils, the water soluble ones, are an extra thing worth packing. I've figured out how to make all kinds of collage without using scissors. And recently I've taken to plastering the covers with random things I come across as well, meaning that I'm seriously mad if I leave the house without tape in my bag. If journals just had spell check...

iso... A JOB!

Miss Koco needs a job. Seriously.

Looking at job postings, going to interviews, and trying to decide if I'm picking the right position feels a lot like dating or trying to find the ideal life partner. Oy vey. I'm not looking for the short-term fun, or the crazy adventure deals that take me to a wild place and show me all kinds of freaky things I never expected. I'm looking for the real deal. So here it goes...

YOU: in Philly, NYC, or San Fran. In one of the following industries/fields (though I'm open to others): higher ed, museums or cultural institutions, instructional design, non-profit. You come with benefits, mainly health care and some kind of pension plan. You require me to travel or allow for a decent amount of time per year where I get to go somewhere cool. You pay enough so I don't feel like everyday is a struggle. Meaning: While I'd love to make like six figures, I'm not even being that fantastical. I just want to pay my bills and have enough left over to have some fun, buy some art supplies, and save a bit for a yearly vacation to somewhere I've never been.

ME: Well-educated with 2 degrees from NYU (Art History, B.A.; Interactive Media, master's). A quick learner, a creative thinker, and very detail-oriented team player. Extensive experience living and working abroad in Asia. Several years of experience working with students, especially at the university level as an instructor as well as an administrator and peer leader. Outgoing. An enthusiastic and encouraging teacher. Honest, punctual (most of the time), great at planning events. Not an expert programmer or designer, but totally comfortable with HTML, CSS, Dreamweaver, all those silly MS office programs, and quite familiar with image, video, and audio editing for online content. A blogger, a knitter, a bento box maker, a museum-goer, a fabulous dancer, a baker, and a bit of an artist. I've got extra pages in my passport, I work hard and play hard, and sometimes I'm funny.

Basically, when someone asks me what I do, or where I'm from, I want to be able to provide a simple answer I can be proud of. I don't want to pay for my own health care. I don't want to hate my job. I want to feel happy that I contribute to a collective effort or help people in some way with what I do. I want a respectable job where I am respected for what I do. I'll work hard and I'll continue to do what I can to be continuously be better at what I do.

If you or someone you know is what I'm looking for, I'd love to hear from you. If you hear of any exciting positions that are so miss kocolicious, please pass them my way. And if you think I'm being completely insane, leave me some comments and show me the light.

Thanks.

xoxo,
miss koco
koco(at)misskoco.com

scantastic

I got a new scanner today. I may never leave the house.

after the tone (update)

Miss Koco's Hello Happy Line, the three month experiment with voicemail, has been fully updated. I was surprised by how many people called to tell personal stories. Sad, tearful stories they really just needed someone to hear. To those people I'd like them to know that even though you didn't always get a response, I was listening. I was also throughly entertained by the silliness left in audio format. Coming home and checking my messages was really a treat.

You can go to the site to see all the posts, or go the itunes store (search for misskoco) and download them. Here are a few of my favorites:

On being a Jew. Sugar monk tells a true story from nyc about his interactions with a Korean lady at the deli.

The giveaway. one of my favorite callers left a message outlining a story she's writing that involves Oprah.

Africa? Mr. Pugh tells a funny tale from his world.

in the day

Sunday. A day for picnics and hanging out in the park. The weather was nice and people were being friendly. Especially this dude who planted himself next to the group and decided to chat everyone up, until he passed out.
I was reminded of the ajossi I saw in Seoul passed out at 2pm in the sun--on a weekday. I have a tendency to make up stories or assume that everything is some kind of performance work. I'm always looking for the camera. Reality in my world is often a bit unbelievable, so imagine most of it is being staged.