I am in dire need of like... An art patron or commission or something, ANYTHING. What I'm doing just isn't cutting it right now. Does anyone want a print of any paintings or custom jewelry or anything else?

Cause I am broke AS A JOKE and days like today I *might* leave work with $20. If I'm lucky.

Let's give it a try at least.
18×24 archival Premium Epson print of my most "G famous" painting, 'The Honeycomb Merkaba', on sale now for $115 ! Limited edition run. Got a few more left!

Hit me up, or PayPal me at xtinacarbone@gmail.com to donate funds or buy a print! ( ya never know....)

Education, rehabilitation station

What did we learn today...?

We learned that if the dude you're currently sleeping with asks you to "lick his taint", it does NOT mean he is gay. Necessarily. I mean, he might be but unless youre both dudes, probably not. And that is OK. And even if he likes dudes sometimes, but is with you now, that's ok too.

Real conversations from my day.

It's gonna be a long week, guys. Real long. One day I'll explain everything, for now, wish me luck. I'll need it.

"The Trouble with Progress", part 7

The Trouble With Progress
Part 7

Oh hai guys. It's def been only... A day! And here we are again. 

o I

Today is one of those ill-fated 2 steps forward, 10 steps back sorta deals. One of my favorite expressions has always been a simple one and coincidentally was also the title of my senior thesis project video, pictured above. That was hmmm circa 2005, & (if I do say myself, and I do) pretty freaking progressive and alarming to the traditional art institution. Now they have a special "ALT" performance ish fashion show every year where I must assume the artists present weird ass funky shit, a la my obvious inspiration, and the "normal" fibers/fashionistas don't have to worry about their entire art future career in the fashion world (or wherever) being at all tainted by that icky conceptual fine art weirdness! 
Pray tell. We would not want THAT NOW WOULD WE. 

Well, that was what *I* was like roughly 13 years ago. Consequently, one of my younger café co-workers was just graduating the 8th grade, and thusly I am reminded how decidedly un-27 I am. Though this is my fake age, guessed by the general populous or at least suggested in an effort to avoid offending me as a female (by erring on the higher age numbers, which is just some sexist ass blasphemy but I'll take it!) 

(Xtiina looks not so bad for 49, right? BAHHH gotcha. I'm only like.... 31 ish here guyz. And probably fresh off a fire gig, hair n makeup all did. Makeup = my fountain of youth/fakeout... Its like painting guys, just on your skin instead of canvas. Easy peasy, practice makes perfect. )

I'll just let you do the math. Around about when I crafted this video, I was turning 21 & probably puking off my rooftop during a mid summer bday party rager where I personally knew like... 1/3 to 1/4 of the guests in attendance. (Mind you, this was MY birthday party.) And to top it all off, at the time I worked at this ancient copy shop print place called "Kinko's", so NATURALLY I made myself many, many neon colored fliers for said birthday party, which I gave out to literally NO ONE but covered my front door in my apartment building with, that featured a photo of myself, dressed up, as I was often known to do back then, wearing my ghetto version of a fat suit in a mayo-eating alter ego character with a shitty blonde wig that I liked to call "Darlene". God, I definitely have a print or file of that SOMEWHERE AND I WILL FIND IT. I have Darlene photos somewhere too. Ah, those were the days. Back during a time when life was more simple, and also when wigs would still fit over my head. (The hair is too much now. I don't even try.) 

Ooh! The even better kicker. These fliers which I must reiterate I LITERALLY GAVE TO NO ONE, totally got me in deep shit with my crappy slumlord landlord company after the fact, when I went on vacation with my parents and of course forgot to remove them. They took one look at that flier and called my parents. I happened to be WITH them at the time, and I like to think my dad believed my (very true) account of what happened but.... I'm not absolutely certain. I should probably ask him one of these days. 

Anyway, in the spirit of taking more STEPS BACK than forward in one day, enjoy my reminiscing and college art video of mayhem wrought upon an overpriced, over-caucasioned foo foo art school, which btw I am still paying back. It was so much fun though. Wouldn't change a second of it. Even the rooftop puking part, which I am almost certain definitely happened on my 21st bday rager. (Thanks for throwing that epic party for me, K-Tin!)💜💛💚💙

A few more videos of just music I saved forever ago that I was re-jamming out to, in the spirit of uplifting my shite mood. Because, bubble butts, borders, and the sky is forever. Boom Shaka laka. 

One of my fav videos of 2017, brilliant song, video, and direction. You tell em what's up MIA YASSSSS QUEEN. Enjoy. 

Because like, I need to laugh at SOMEthing today besides myself. "That beat is fucking dope" "Ya how do I look?" (Dolphin noises, steel drum weird DnB) "Like a fucking slut" YASSSSS SO GOOD. (Apologies for the left side thing, phone editing is nearly literally impossible. #willfixitlater )

Ah now THIS ONE IS JUST GOOD. REAL GOOD. Like DnB Like I do? (LOVE, correction.) Great, you'll like it to. Don't? Still might dig it cause it's just GOOD. MAD PROPS to both these guys,  who independently are talented but together are fucking electric. 


I apologize really sincerely for the wack ass formatting. Blasted phone blogging. (Awful, terrible word.) The perfectionist editor in me is embarrassed to publish something so full of formatting flaws, but I gotta get it out and I'm starting to care way less. I'll drag my laptop to a cafe with wifi in the very near future and fix all deez entries up REAL NICE FER YOUS GUYS. Promise. My fingertips and a really shitty, really cracked, totally busticated smartphone are not making this easier. At all. 


On that note, I have work far too early again tomorrow. 

Ciao bellas, till a few days or maybe even tomorrow. (Depends on how good of a day I have. Hooray!) 

Xtina, Pity Party of 1? F THAT! A list of 10-nay, 11 things ya probably missed

. 

HELLO 2018. And good riddance to 2017, 16, 15 & whenever the hell else I visited this mess.

And WOWWWWW I have been a terrible, TERRIBLE BLOGGER.

(Please re: I hate that word.)

I'm sorry it's been like... 5 years since my last cheeky blog post. Funny though, cause it feels like literally nothing has changed.

While that is undoubtedly partially true, it's also not. Hmmm, what actually has changed? Let's see...

1) First and foremost, as well as most "life-changing" (& not in a good way...) my husband lost his job nearly exactly one year ago. Not his fault, the company he worked for, after a few strings of serious layoffs ended up closing their entire Philly electronics branch. Ho hum, welcome to 2017. And now 2018. Hooooray.

2) Thanks to #1, we are dirt f&$@ing poor. Still. Thanks Vane Bro's!

3) #1 happened just as FREAKING JUST AS we returned from our first Christmas holiday visiting my parents (in sunny Miami Florida!) in a LONG time, having thus decided (well I decided/was finally ok with) f&$@ this winter shit, he works on boats let's gtf out of Philly. (Note; he has been into this idea since his first visit down there to like, meet my
parents, over 10 years ago. I was holding on to the Nooooo but I live here now all my friends are here! Except now they aren't, not All of them, and also F*** THIS F***ING WINTER BULLSHIT!)

4) Needless to say, we are currently still in Philly. Ugh. (Naw PHL, I do love you, I just really really am ready to leave you now.)

5) I am still at the same god damn job.

6) I still live in the same shithole apartment.

7) Ooh! A GOOD THING. I have been making and selling my bejeweled wares via the non website and non Etsy platforms....mainly Facebook, Instagram & friends/word of mouth.
(Check that out @zefluxuria on IG & Facebook.com/ZefLuxuria ! Also a store in Baltimore selling my stuff, Night Owl Gallery in Highlandtown!)

8) I have taken an extensive hiatus from my most beloved fire group, Lux Arati, mostly for financial & emotional reasons, that suck and I hate them. (The reasons, not Lux. Will always #lovemyluxies)

9) Thanks again to #1 & just life being crappy sometimes, we are car-less and also wifi ness, which is real fun. (Actually, our car is currently in mechanical purgatory, thanks to us not having the coin to get it fixed, registered in PA & all that jazz...)

10) Thanks to #9, I am currently composing this on my shitty, shitty shit piece of shit phone, which I also hate. (P.S.: It is REALLY HARD to edit this on said shitty phone. Sorry, one pic only bc I'm already way too frustrated.)

11) What else totally sucks right now? Hmm. I owe a lot of people money.... Including various financial institutions & friends/employers... it's cold a.f. outside.... Oh. And I'm OUT OF WEED & didn't know I was also out of cash when I spent all my tips today on booze. Sweet. (thx babe!)

Florida, I wanna be (back) in you.

Guys, shit is real dark for me right now. Quite possibly never been darker, only because any OTHER time in my life that's been REAL bad, you know... Like wow, at least I'm not 22 and my bf is using my parents stolen CC # to bail himself out of jail bad...any OTHER time that has been awful, I could blame it on someone besides myself. Oh, well clearly my 22 year old predicament was the Ex BF! Or oh, shit, my mom is distraught because my sis ODed for the 5th time this year, or whatever. Or, I don't have a car right now because a drunk driver hit it while it was parked on the side of the road....! Totes not my fault. And those are ALL real life examples of some of the shit that has befallen me in my short, lame ass 34 years.

This time... Well fuck. I guess I'm just as much to blame as my husband, whom I still love dearly no matter how many tears I've shed while moaning about how "this should not be my life" & "boohoo, why does everything suck?"

It just does sometimes, amirite? I can't be the only one who feels or has felt like they're failing at life. I have to believe that this will be the year that things get better. Despite the despicable leader of our country, despite the .24¢ in my bank account, despite the very unglamorous job I share with coworkers 10 years my junior. I HAVE TO HAVE HOPE THAT THINGS WILL CHANGE.

Otherwise, there's no hope for me, is there...?

Not to get dark, or add to the 11 mostly depressing life updates... But we did lose a few good ones since my last entry. Prince. Bowie. My epically dark and beautiful sad, sad photographer GENIUS friend of ye olde livejournal initial friendship, Krystal Layton aka Zvandrythx (RIP BISH I MISS YOU! Once I get back to Florida I PROMISE I WILL FRAME AND HANG YOUR PHOTOS IN MY NEW PAD I SWEAR.) And of course the only girl I could stand to be that close to my husband, the amazing Steph K. I miss you both more than you know.

F*ck it's been a rough few years.

Writing helps. It helps me process things, it helps me get IT out. I've always done this, though not usually so publicly. I'll probably share this on the book of faces. Will anyone read it? No clue. Krystal probably would have, because she was a writer like me. Hopefully not anyone that'll be too worried. Don't get worried guys! Just like, buy me a drink some night, or better yet, buy a print of my artwork or some ZefLux jewelry. I'll be ok, eventually. Once I get out of this bloody hole of despair and darkness, I vow... 2018, YOU WILL BE MY BITCH.

At least I still have my sense of humor. AMIRITE?????

I've already reminded a few very close friends.... Don't worry about me, please, unless it appears my sense if humor is suddenly gone. If I ain't cracking jokes, come pay me a visit, JUUUUUST in case. K? K.

Love n kisses, and may y'all never feel this kinda poor in your lifetime.

Trudging onward. Forward. No looking back. One day at a motherfucking time.