Janis is my spirit animal

Bells: Great Scott! via Up Six Vintage ; Janis Joplin tee: my sister's old ; Kimono coat thing: vintage

The Holy Trinity pants are back! They were thusly named by my friend Carrie, the reason behind why I even got them (read: her constant nagging). I am often too daunted by their coolness to wear them, but today I woke up feeling rather rad & refreshed and decided it was time to give them a spin (I fell asleep listening to Big Star, so that obviously had a major effect on the rad quality of today). I did wear them on a date recently, which ended up being a really terrible terrible time, so their Holy Trinity powers must not extend to the dating area of my life. Bummer, as that's what I need the most help in.

I kind of picked a poor day to wear them, actually, as I'm staying home to work all day. I've spent way too much money in the past couple of weeks - eating out several times, making purchases from both Modcloth & Spell Designs, and visits to the coffee shop - and so today I decided to stay in, buckle down (in these jeans), and work. The only money I've spent today is on my student loans, so I think we can call that a responsible, adult use of my money - amiright or amiright?

I sort of hate working from home, to be honest. At first, I loved it. I could watch X-Files and enter data & create lists as my job requires of me. I could snack with great frequency, take breaks to pet my cats, and listen to my music as loudly as I pleased. But the more I work from home, the more it wears on me. I lose my focus too often. I'll have a question and have to wait days to hear back from the proper person. My cat Little Girl will screech and screech until I let her outside on her leash. Gogo will head butt me and crawl his 17-pound cat body into my lap until I give him as much attention as he wants. My designated work area (the coffee table in the living room) is a mess of papers. I need a clean, well lit office or cubicle with my boss & supervisor near by. Working from home really only works for me on occasion. Trust me, I'm a very organized person and I'm good at doing the things that need to be done, but I'm just way too restless for this.

Wait so - this post was supposed to be about the Holy Trinity pants. Why am I talking about all this other boring shit?

Let's talk about this shirt & this kimono...thing. I found this kimono at a global market held at my church once a year. It's from Afghanistan and I bought it as a set with this ridiculously beautiful olive coloured silk dress, and a matching headband & belt. It's a bit much all put together, but worn separate it's so cool. And very very pretty. Especially the dress. Oh my god I love the dress.

And this shirt? I remember my mum bought it for my sister when she was a teenager. I was so jealous because I loved Janis Joplin and I could firmly say that my sister had no interest in her. I think my mum probably bought it for my sister as a way to live vicariously, as my hippie mum was the one who even got me into Janis. My sister wore the shirt because it was so cool and got her a lot of attention, but when she moved out, she left it behind. I took it and began wearing it, but the sweat stains on it were simply appalling. I tried everything that Martha Stewart recommended and nothing worked. So I cut it into a tank and have been rocking it that way in recent years. Such a seriously cool shirt though. I love the illustration.

I remember the first time I was exposed to Janis was on a re-run (obvs) of Ed Sullivan. I was so entranced. Like, she was super witchy and drugged out and almost terrifying, but I so completely wanted to be her. There was something so raw and emotional about her. She was extremely vulnerable and hurt, but at the same time very strong and defiant. It was such a confusing mix of personas and my 8-year-old mind was confounded by what was going on before me - who this creature was. I had no understanding of what the tragedy her life was to give her music or her persona context, but I was mesmerized. I found my father's Janis record and started spinning it. And I'd lay on the living room floor and listen to it over and over and over again. I still listen to Janis religiously. I remain entranced by her mystique and fatale. My heart rate goes up with her wailing and screeching. It's rare that music moves me so powerfully, but Janis is one of those creatures.

I cannot find a good recording of her Ed Sullivan Show performance, so here's one from a different show, performing the same song. And of course, her rendition of Summertime is iconic and (in my opinion), one of the best. And just for good measure, I love listening to this live performance of Ball & Chain at the Monterey Pop Festival.

Now how cheesy will it be if I told you that watching her perform live actually makes me cry because it's so powerful. Does that make me a loser? Well whatever...tears here, you guys!

Today has been so rad. Lots of work getting done, feeling good about everything in my life (well everything within my control), and working on my list of 21 things I want to do before I turn 22. I'm about to dig into a bowl of ice cream and watch Friends.