Post number 777. Whooo!
Left the place at around 1:28 to make the trade off with Terry. I drew him a picture of Angel brooding in thanks for all the loans of awesome Buffy and Angel. Working on Angel season two. It is getting good. Even better when Angel sings or dances.
After that was a long slow relax till Flicks on the Bricks. Luna got grandfathered in. She is safe but the rule now is no pets at all. She was safe because Katie is a responsible pet owner. And Luna doesn't wreck the place.
Harmony Rutter, a friend from high school, has moved to Portland. She is living with her fiancee Peter. J couldn't make Flicks on the Bricks due to work conflicts so Harmony, Peter, and I planned to see the show together! A short burst of rain almost made me decide to stay at home but in the end I decided to risk the risk of dampness. I loaded my bike up with a blanket and pillow and went down to Pioneer Place Square. I arrived at 6:30 and much too early. 7:15-7:30 is ideal it would seem. Harmony and Peter took a long time coming. Jordan from school said a little hello and showed me the ukulele he made.
It is a small world sometimes. Harmony's roommate and his girlfriend were also in the audience for the movie and by complete random happenstance, they were not but two feet away from me. I didn't know this till Harmony and Peter showed up and were like, "woah, what a weird little thing to happen." Fun.
The movie projected onto the giant inflatable screen this Friday was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The one with the Holy Grail and Sean Connery. I grabbed a cheesesteak from the legendary cheesesteak man. No popcorn. I pitched in a Sacajawea for the ice cream run and received a ice cream sandwich for desert. Perfect! It was muggy with the occasional breeze and very fun. People clapped and cheered and we all had a good time.
Before anyone I knew showed up, there was this guy with a sign that stood in the square. The sign talked about God and how homeless people are thieves and that there are food kitchens just down the street. As if his sign wasn't clear enough, he started to preach about giving a dollar to a nun will buy three meals and how he was once a nice Jewish boy until he found Jesus. Then he had some words with a homeless man in the audience. Telling him how to save himself and stuff. The homeless man was just mad and wanted to be left alone with his free popcorn. Later the man preached to some kids and it was a little bit creepy. The homeless man and I exchanged glances at his behavior and I made a gesture to indicate I was on the side of Not Being a Jerk. You can't tell people they need help; people have to want help. Feh.
Anyway. Movie was fun but uncomfortable. More pillows next time! The next movie is Dirty Dancing. Then Jurassic Park and then Anchorman. Then it is a 1984 movie of our choosing. I voted for Ghostbusters.
hi
Friday, July 10, 2009
I didn't loose them, I made them!
Finished Angel season one. It got a lot better near the end when it decided to have a story arc. I prefer Buffy but I hear the later seasons of Buffy get weird and the later seasons of Angel surpass Buffy in terms of awesome. Only time will tell.In between Angel episodes, I went out and spent the day with Adam. We had fun.
First we went to his glass studio. There was a film crew nearby but we never found out what they were filming. Adam's studio is in the top floor of a warehouse by the Hawthorne Bridge on the other side of the river. He shares it with lots of glass workers. The staircase up is really spooky and awesome.
Adam showed me how to make marbles and mushrooms and pendants. Marbles require melting a glob of glass into a glob ball shape and then transferring it to a punty stick. Then you make it round by rounding the glob in a graphite based mold. It is a lot of dexterity and a lot of continual finger movement. A bit much for me. I managed to get a few "very good for your first try" comments though. I made a black reddish marble and then, with lots of help, made this spiral twisty one with cool colors. I didn't get burned.
After the two marbles, I learned how to make it look like a mushroom in a glob of glass. You shove a small stick of glass into a hot glob and push and push and then melt it to force the air out. Made one in blue and then made three in a new spun color. I curled over the loop to make it into a necklace. Go me! Afterwards Adam showed me the lathe thingy. I'd like to continue to make little things but I don't think I am cut out for glass work. It is a lot of hands on stuff that requires the ability to be steady.
The view from the studio is nice. A beautiful day without being too hot.
Calin (I think that was his name) was making a large marble so we went over to Tigard to check out the process. Tony and a lady (who has a name that was given to me but I can't recall it now) were hanging out there when we arrived. Calin's marble was more the size of a bocce ball. Huge chunk of solid glass. It took a while to set up and we left before we could see any real progress. The nice lady made a lady bug and some flower marbles. Adam picked some blueberries.
At around 8pm I was dropped off at the Goose and that completed my first day of glass adventures. I thought marbles would take less time to make but it was the introductory lesson. Adam says to call whenever and I can try more. Hmmn.
Tomorrow is Flicks on the Bricks. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I think I'll get there early and swing by cheese steak man for some nibbles. Can't wait!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
live in personal chefs ROCK
I finally caught up on sleep. Mostly. It was an interrupted sleep but it lasted a while.
Yoga really kicked my butt. Well, I should say thigh. Yesterday they were severely paining. Now my thigh is a just a gentle ache. So I took it easy and watched stuff and read stuff and ate Gabe's cooking.
Today's menu included little cakes of artichoke and white bean with a garlic dressing. There were other things in them but I forget. Wonderful and superb. The dressing spent hours simmering. A little while later we had steak tar tare with homemade breadpoints. We watched X Files while we ate.
Yoga really kicked my butt. Well, I should say thigh. Yesterday they were severely paining. Now my thigh is a just a gentle ache. So I took it easy and watched stuff and read stuff and ate Gabe's cooking.
Today's menu included little cakes of artichoke and white bean with a garlic dressing. There were other things in them but I forget. Wonderful and superb. The dressing spent hours simmering. A little while later we had steak tar tare with homemade breadpoints. We watched X Files while we ate.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
art! seeing lots of it!
Not much sleep again. This will do me no good.
Groggy start. Made some tea and put it in a jar with a lid and stuffed the remainder of the Raisin Bran in my bag with some supplies.
I was the only one to show up at the Illustration class. Daniela and I talked about art and composition and other things. It was nice just to bond. I like her hair. She added me to the list of artists to work with for this editorial class she is teaching. It is a practice in art direction. So the people in the class get to pick illustrators to art direct. A little free practice in a safe environment. I hope I get picked. I'm up against Dom, J, Karen, Melissa Dow, and Kim. Well not "up against" just there are more Illustrators than directors.
I picked up some books from the library during the break. Talked to Dom and Thom and Daniel (Haile, not Williams or Duford). Dom chilled for a little bit in the Illustration room. I forget what we talked about.
Daniela and I decided to spend the rest of class in the Portland Art Museum. The exhibits were PNCA at 100, an M.C. Escher dealy thing, and Sensitive Vision: The Prints of Beth Van Hoesen.
PNCA at 100: This was a collection of art from students and faculty of PNCA through its century of existence. PNCA used to be part of the Portland Art Museum. Success and fame are not the same thing. The names I recognized were the people who were still at school: Missal, Yoshi, Wyckoff. There were some pieces by names that Daniela told me were notorious but I wasn't too impressed. Still, damn some skilled people have come out of PNCA. Mostly paintings. I loved the painting by Sherrie Wolf "Peaches with Buffalo". It had a really beautiful sense of whimsy. I liked the exhibit but I felt it was missing some people. Arvie Smith for example.
Sensitive Vision: The Prints of Beth Van Hoesen: Etchings galore! And with a wide variety of subject matter that smoothly transitioned from piece to piece. The people who set up the printing wing know their stuff. Started with nude figures and moved into animals and plants and then colored flowers. Street scenes, water scenes. Even a portrait of dear sweet Imogen Cunningham. So much work. Very prolific. Her drypoint skills were very much mastered. A tiny bee had as much consideration as a complex street in Greece. I need to return to see it though I may not get around to it.
Virtual Worlds: M.C. Escher and Paradox: Escher! Who doesn't love Escher? We arrived at this last and thus I was very worn out from the walking and wasn't quite feeling up to the close investigation of all the work. And there was a lot of work! They had the whole Creation series and oodles of the classic works in original print form! Amazing to behold the real solid black of a real printed Escher. Woodblock! What skill. For all that he is loved, it isn't enough. There was a room devoted to the entire process behind Rippled Surface. The sketches, the ripple layout, the transfers and overlays, the proofs, the two blocks used to color it and the magnificent final piece. There were more Escher blocks. There was the block for Snakes, which was one block that was repeated three times. Flawless registration. I had no idea. All the blocks had holes punched in them to prevent more editions from being printed. There was the full version of Metamorphosis III. 9 pieces of paper. I forget if the plaque said 50 or 30 blocks were used. I'm leaning towards 50 because that piece is long. Reproductions don't do him quite justice anymore.
Tired, Daniela and I parted our ways. I slumped into my chair and watched Angel. Dinner was something spicy on rice with chicken and garbanzo beans. Delicious of course.
Adam and I caught the 10:30 showing of Public Enemies. Johnny Depp stars in the story of John Dillinger. Directed by Michael Mann. I liked it all except for Mann's choice of using digital to film it. Sometimes it felt like you were on set and not watching a movie. It was very real and shaky. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not so much. But as a stylistic choice for making the reality of the situations feel solid and less theatrical, I say it worked. But it didn't feel like a period piece, well not so much anyway. A little bit but the modern flare of the film choice was distracting. Acting was good all around. Costumes, cars, guns. All neat. Bloody yes. Very much so.
We hung out for a little bit after but it was late and I need to try to sleep.
Groggy start. Made some tea and put it in a jar with a lid and stuffed the remainder of the Raisin Bran in my bag with some supplies.
I was the only one to show up at the Illustration class. Daniela and I talked about art and composition and other things. It was nice just to bond. I like her hair. She added me to the list of artists to work with for this editorial class she is teaching. It is a practice in art direction. So the people in the class get to pick illustrators to art direct. A little free practice in a safe environment. I hope I get picked. I'm up against Dom, J, Karen, Melissa Dow, and Kim. Well not "up against" just there are more Illustrators than directors.
I picked up some books from the library during the break. Talked to Dom and Thom and Daniel (Haile, not Williams or Duford). Dom chilled for a little bit in the Illustration room. I forget what we talked about.
Daniela and I decided to spend the rest of class in the Portland Art Museum. The exhibits were PNCA at 100, an M.C. Escher dealy thing, and Sensitive Vision: The Prints of Beth Van Hoesen.
PNCA at 100: This was a collection of art from students and faculty of PNCA through its century of existence. PNCA used to be part of the Portland Art Museum. Success and fame are not the same thing. The names I recognized were the people who were still at school: Missal, Yoshi, Wyckoff. There were some pieces by names that Daniela told me were notorious but I wasn't too impressed. Still, damn some skilled people have come out of PNCA. Mostly paintings. I loved the painting by Sherrie Wolf "Peaches with Buffalo". It had a really beautiful sense of whimsy. I liked the exhibit but I felt it was missing some people. Arvie Smith for example.
Sensitive Vision: The Prints of Beth Van Hoesen: Etchings galore! And with a wide variety of subject matter that smoothly transitioned from piece to piece. The people who set up the printing wing know their stuff. Started with nude figures and moved into animals and plants and then colored flowers. Street scenes, water scenes. Even a portrait of dear sweet Imogen Cunningham. So much work. Very prolific. Her drypoint skills were very much mastered. A tiny bee had as much consideration as a complex street in Greece. I need to return to see it though I may not get around to it.
Virtual Worlds: M.C. Escher and Paradox: Escher! Who doesn't love Escher? We arrived at this last and thus I was very worn out from the walking and wasn't quite feeling up to the close investigation of all the work. And there was a lot of work! They had the whole Creation series and oodles of the classic works in original print form! Amazing to behold the real solid black of a real printed Escher. Woodblock! What skill. For all that he is loved, it isn't enough. There was a room devoted to the entire process behind Rippled Surface. The sketches, the ripple layout, the transfers and overlays, the proofs, the two blocks used to color it and the magnificent final piece. There were more Escher blocks. There was the block for Snakes, which was one block that was repeated three times. Flawless registration. I had no idea. All the blocks had holes punched in them to prevent more editions from being printed. There was the full version of Metamorphosis III. 9 pieces of paper. I forget if the plaque said 50 or 30 blocks were used. I'm leaning towards 50 because that piece is long. Reproductions don't do him quite justice anymore.
Tired, Daniela and I parted our ways. I slumped into my chair and watched Angel. Dinner was something spicy on rice with chicken and garbanzo beans. Delicious of course.
Adam and I caught the 10:30 showing of Public Enemies. Johnny Depp stars in the story of John Dillinger. Directed by Michael Mann. I liked it all except for Mann's choice of using digital to film it. Sometimes it felt like you were on set and not watching a movie. It was very real and shaky. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not so much. But as a stylistic choice for making the reality of the situations feel solid and less theatrical, I say it worked. But it didn't feel like a period piece, well not so much anyway. A little bit but the modern flare of the film choice was distracting. Acting was good all around. Costumes, cars, guns. All neat. Bloody yes. Very much so.
We hung out for a little bit after but it was late and I need to try to sleep.
Monday, July 6, 2009
death rattle of a starling
I have not been sleeping well lately. Even if I get into bed at a respectable time (for the summer anyway). Very restless and I wake up far too early for my liking. Boo!
Gabe made hash browns and scrambled eggs. I was a member of the clean plate club!
I finished season five of Buffy. Yeah, it is getting weird like everyone said. Still, I am very much enjoying it. The episodes of Angel are hit and miss right now. Oh well.
Much cooler day. Still warm but not scorching hot. Talking to J. We are going to see Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade at the Flicks on the Bricks this Friday! Exciting.
Monday means YOGA! Went to school to print out the forms to reapply for the Goose apartment. Ran into Daniel (Williams, not Duford). He was looking as bearded as ever.
Yoga was once again down at Tanner Springs. This time I was on time. Only Serenity, Ruth, and the unnamed mystery lady were there. It was a wonderful session. I'm a little out of it but not too much. I'm feeling sore now but a good sore. I loved the poses where we looked to the sky and it was all wide and blue with perfect clouds. Some kids played in a little fountain behind us.
During a standing pose a hawk came out of the sky and snatched a little bird out of a tree and slammed it into the ground. The little bird cried and cried. The yoga crew, the fountain playing family, and others just stood and stared at the hawk. The hawk stared back. Eventually it moved its meal to the pavement and eventually flew away with it. It was not 10 feet away from us. Fearless.
Picked up some razors and hair ties from Safeway and took out some cash to put on my laundry card. I did three loads when I got back! One of them became unbalanced in the machine and broke it a little bit. I've seen it happen in that machine before so I don't think I broke broke it. It just didn't drain and spin. Too bad it had to be my comforter and blanket that sat for 30 minutes absorbing water. Gabe had to help me pull it out of the soapy water. As per his suggestion I ran it through another wash cycle. They both came out fine. Hurray!
Dinner was Shepard's pie. Chicken, potatoes, hand made crust with hand made bread to go with it. Totally awesome.
I was thinking about volunteering somewhere. Maybe PICA. Get in early on that TBA action.
Gabe made hash browns and scrambled eggs. I was a member of the clean plate club!
I finished season five of Buffy. Yeah, it is getting weird like everyone said. Still, I am very much enjoying it. The episodes of Angel are hit and miss right now. Oh well.
Much cooler day. Still warm but not scorching hot. Talking to J. We are going to see Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade at the Flicks on the Bricks this Friday! Exciting.
Monday means YOGA! Went to school to print out the forms to reapply for the Goose apartment. Ran into Daniel (Williams, not Duford). He was looking as bearded as ever.
Yoga was once again down at Tanner Springs. This time I was on time. Only Serenity, Ruth, and the unnamed mystery lady were there. It was a wonderful session. I'm a little out of it but not too much. I'm feeling sore now but a good sore. I loved the poses where we looked to the sky and it was all wide and blue with perfect clouds. Some kids played in a little fountain behind us.
During a standing pose a hawk came out of the sky and snatched a little bird out of a tree and slammed it into the ground. The little bird cried and cried. The yoga crew, the fountain playing family, and others just stood and stared at the hawk. The hawk stared back. Eventually it moved its meal to the pavement and eventually flew away with it. It was not 10 feet away from us. Fearless.
Picked up some razors and hair ties from Safeway and took out some cash to put on my laundry card. I did three loads when I got back! One of them became unbalanced in the machine and broke it a little bit. I've seen it happen in that machine before so I don't think I broke broke it. It just didn't drain and spin. Too bad it had to be my comforter and blanket that sat for 30 minutes absorbing water. Gabe had to help me pull it out of the soapy water. As per his suggestion I ran it through another wash cycle. They both came out fine. Hurray!
Dinner was Shepard's pie. Chicken, potatoes, hand made crust with hand made bread to go with it. Totally awesome.
I was thinking about volunteering somewhere. Maybe PICA. Get in early on that TBA action.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
luchador, uhh I mean lucich
Katie and Gabe are so sweet. They invited me to a little family get together. Saying that because I couldn't be with my family for the fourth, they will just adopt me. Gabe's family specifically. One of his uncles, I think it was an uncle, lives in Hawaii. For three weeks he has traded places with someone else. So everyone got together in this wonderful house on the Willamette River. Sculpted garden, river access with a dock, covered patio, and a JETSKI!! Wa ha heeee!
Gabe's adorable grandparents were there. A couple uncles, one named Bret. Gabe's parents. His cousin Nick and his lady Lauren. And another couple I forget. A lot of names were passed around but I was unable to catch all of them. For a wee while we sat around drinking chilly beers and enjoying the sun. Then we went down to the dock and took turns on the jetski. Gabe's dad went. Nick and Lauren. Bret. Gabe and Katie.
I dived in and swam in the river for a while. Bret was the only other one to swim. I took the last ride before we stowed it. I hopped on with Brett and he gunned it. Jetskis are so fast. It doesn't seem so fast but with the wind and the water and the bump it is so much more intense. We hit boat wakes and jumped and bounced. I hollered, "Wheeee!!!!" and "Awessssommmme!!" and he went so so fast. Jetskis are a total blast. I want one! Too bad the balcony is too small to contain it. Boo.
With all the zipping around my stomach got jostled and I worked up quite an appetite. Salmon! Ribs! Macaroni salad! Brownies! Potato salad! No burgers but actual meat was served. Bret agreed that vegans shouldn't be allowed to call grilling barbecue.
Some guitar was played. Grandpa Lucich sung. Papa Lucich sang as well. Gabe Lucich did not sing. A nice moment. Reminded me of singing Christmas songs with the Pedersen clan. Katie was a bit shy. I don't think her family sings.
After a while Katie, Gabe and I went back down to the dock. They did the jetski thing. I did the dive in the water for one last chilly swim thing. It was nice to float and look at the clouds as they went by. It wasn't this crazy hot day but still warm. People kept commenting on the quality of the water but the public water parks are far more rank and nasty than any real river.
Changed into regular clothes and sipped a Dr Pepper and chatted with the folks about Pulali Point, wooden boats, and all that.
Gabe had a house warming to drop by for a second so we left a little early. I bid my goodbyes to the lovely family Lucich.
The house warming was in Gladstone. It was a little bit...different. Tons of people my age with kids. And beer pong in the back yard. Katie and I mainly loomed together and remarked about how not our scene it was. Gabe played a game of pool. The host, Gabe's friend, was cool. We saw only a little bit of him though. It was awkward and painfully obvious we were not having the greatest of times. We didn't stay long.
Gabe just made Katie a late meal. Slice of home made pizza + fried egg + brie + tomato + avocado.
I'm so tired. So much fun.
Gabe's adorable grandparents were there. A couple uncles, one named Bret. Gabe's parents. His cousin Nick and his lady Lauren. And another couple I forget. A lot of names were passed around but I was unable to catch all of them. For a wee while we sat around drinking chilly beers and enjoying the sun. Then we went down to the dock and took turns on the jetski. Gabe's dad went. Nick and Lauren. Bret. Gabe and Katie.
I dived in and swam in the river for a while. Bret was the only other one to swim. I took the last ride before we stowed it. I hopped on with Brett and he gunned it. Jetskis are so fast. It doesn't seem so fast but with the wind and the water and the bump it is so much more intense. We hit boat wakes and jumped and bounced. I hollered, "Wheeee!!!!" and "Awessssommmme!!" and he went so so fast. Jetskis are a total blast. I want one! Too bad the balcony is too small to contain it. Boo.
With all the zipping around my stomach got jostled and I worked up quite an appetite. Salmon! Ribs! Macaroni salad! Brownies! Potato salad! No burgers but actual meat was served. Bret agreed that vegans shouldn't be allowed to call grilling barbecue.
Some guitar was played. Grandpa Lucich sung. Papa Lucich sang as well. Gabe Lucich did not sing. A nice moment. Reminded me of singing Christmas songs with the Pedersen clan. Katie was a bit shy. I don't think her family sings.
After a while Katie, Gabe and I went back down to the dock. They did the jetski thing. I did the dive in the water for one last chilly swim thing. It was nice to float and look at the clouds as they went by. It wasn't this crazy hot day but still warm. People kept commenting on the quality of the water but the public water parks are far more rank and nasty than any real river.
Changed into regular clothes and sipped a Dr Pepper and chatted with the folks about Pulali Point, wooden boats, and all that.
Gabe had a house warming to drop by for a second so we left a little early. I bid my goodbyes to the lovely family Lucich.
The house warming was in Gladstone. It was a little bit...different. Tons of people my age with kids. And beer pong in the back yard. Katie and I mainly loomed together and remarked about how not our scene it was. Gabe played a game of pool. The host, Gabe's friend, was cool. We saw only a little bit of him though. It was awkward and painfully obvious we were not having the greatest of times. We didn't stay long.
Gabe just made Katie a late meal. Slice of home made pizza + fried egg + brie + tomato + avocado.
I'm so tired. So much fun.
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