needs more gore

Soap Box Derby!

Woke up and Katie said she and Tom were going to the Adult Soap Box Derby thing. She was going to leave in 10 minutes so if I wanted to join them, I had to do it quick. Showered and dressed in record time. Thankfully we stopped by Safeway on the way. Picked up a rice bowl with beef and broccoli on top. Mmm.

The Adult Soap Box Derby was the 13th. It is only adult in that the people driving are adults (this isn't some Devil's Point thing). Some classes in speed, some in creativity. We got a fairly good parking spot that was only a little walk up a steep hill to get to the track. We sat for a moment but the screaming kids were, well annoying. We moved farther up the hill and got a good spot in the shade. I sat on a blanket, Tom and Katie sat in foldy chairs.

There was a lego car, a car with people in a giant cauldron, a Flinstone's car, and soapbox with two barrels for the wheels. It went slow but it was awesome! Several of the passengers had squirt guns or water ballons.

We sat and drank and enjoyed the day. Jim sat near us but didn't come over to say hi. Tom's friend Joel stopped by and we exchanged bad jokes. Liz, and her friends William and Amy also sat with us. Later on I recognized Thom sitting up the hill from us, so I went to say hi. BT and BT's friend and partner in the moustache wax making business Evan were also with him. Sat and chatted. It was Evan's birthday.

At around 4:30 we decided to pack it in. The derby was held at a park on Mount Tabor. Past 55th on the East side. Tom drove us back. The two of them debated seeing a movie and I suggested Inglorious Basterds. Katie found that a 5:30 was showing at Cinemagic so off we went, back over to the other side! There was a line but not so big. The theatre was decently crowded and we sat nearer to the front.

Inglorious Basterds had more action in the trailer. Seriously, all the action in the movie would take up about 7 minutes worth of footage. It was brief and sudden when it happened. Still, having a little violence punctuates the power of the moment. A lot of talk but good talk. Some random moments occurred that are clear indicators that it was a Tarantino flick (HUGO STIGLITZ!! comes to mind). I enjoyed it though I might not watch it again for a while. Good shots, good black humor.

Katie and Tom left for Yur's. I stayed behind. I'm not much for cheap, nasty beer. Sure sometimes I feel like I am being judged for not wanting to partake in the constant consumption of booze but whatever, I'm saving money by not settling. One nice drink rarely still comes up as cheaper than many constant bad drinks.

good kitty

Katie says that I misrepresent Luna with my art and the photos I post of her. So here are some pictures of Luna looking small and fluffy and sweet (as opposed to fat and angry):




Finish Time Traveller's Wife today. The last 50 pages were just reading the inevitable. While sad, it was not that interesting. Defiantly has a better first half than second. Can't wait to dive into my new book!

Watched TV, slept in. Did not have any real adventures. Bought some chocolate milk. Gabe is working on moving out. He'll also be gone all of October on a job in California.

Katie's friend Amanda was over. I read from my book about foreign words. I'm excited for Sunday afternoon. That's when Katie and I are going to see Inglorious Basterds! I need to work Thirst into my schedule as well. One week left of summer.

I filled my tire up with air to avoid damaging the tire (as per dad's suggestion).

I'm a sucker for anything Tomer

Today I took a walk.

I'm avoiding fixing my bike tire. Really need to get it sorted out as school will be starting soon and like hell am I walking.

Not a long walk. And not an irregular walk. Just to Powell's and no farther North. I couldn't find a copy of Dead Until Dark that didn't have a hideous TV cover. I picked up a book about words from other cultures and their specific meanings. Such as the Czech word litost which is defined as the state of torment created by the sudden realization of one's own misery. It was half off. In the new books section I spied a cover that I suspected was illustrated by Tomer Hanuka, who is one of my favorite contemporary illustrators. And it was done by him. The book had a cool description so I decided to take a change on a first novel (the book is Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst by the way, it's about a cop and some ghosts and such).

Books stuffed in bag, I went to Starbucks and got a venti iced tea lemonade. I sat under a window and read Time Traveller's Wife for an hour and a half. I am determined to finish that book so that I can see the movie, good or not. I don't have far to go now. It's been a good read thus far though sometimes the characters are rather painfully cultured. I moved from Starbucks to the Park Blocks and read some more.

An obese lady in a motorized cart scooted by me and stopped and asked for a dollar. I said no. She asked again saying that a dollar was not much and I said no again. As a rule I only give money to the Street Roots people. Specifically the guy outside Safeway on 13th and Lovejoy. His dog, Balthazar, is really sweet and he (the man, not the dog) always points out an article of interest. Anyway, the lady went on her way. A dog belonging to the third person she asked for money barked and scratched her. The young woman who owned the dog yelled and hit it and tied it tighter behind her. She gave the woman some tissues for her leg, which was bleeding. The woman didn't give a cry of pain so I don't think it was too serious. The young woman continued to whack her dog on the head. The lady on the bench next to me tried to tell her that abuse will get her nowhere, but she wasn't paying attention.

At 5, I went to Fox Tower. I felt like a movie. Went to see The Goods. As I went in I saw a line. The dude behind the counter said it was for Thirst. I wish I knew they were playing that as a special preview because I sure as shoot would have seen that instead. Park Chan Wook Vampire movie vs Jeremy Piven unknown comedy? Yeah. Anyway, The Goods had a few laughs but was overall lame. It also had a random absurdest quality. It wanted to be bigger but it just wasn't.

Finished True Blood when I got back. I like reading.

Also, today is the two year anniversary of Trillobite! 730 days and still going strong.

evil fabio: drabio!

Had a low key morning. I was planning to waste another day and say my farewells to Karen later on when Katie walked in and invited me to come with her and Liz to Sauvie's Island. Swimming! It was said to get to 100 today. Perfect weather for a dip.

Sauvie's Island has a lot of U-Pic-It farms. And farms in general. Really beautiful drive in Liz's Jeep. There are two beach options on Sauvie's Island: clothing required and clothing optional. We went to the latter. It wasn't crowded and there were no kids. I kept a swimsuit on, but it was a comfortable beach to be on. No worries about keeping up appearances and all that. It was nice, aside from a few creepers.

Well, it was just one creeper: Drabio. A tall, muscled man. Very tan with dark wavy shoulder length hair and a bright white necklace that really stood out. He just wandered up and down the beach. He never got in deeper than his knees and just splashed the water on himself to keep cool. We call him Drabio because he was this dark, evil version of Fabio. Drab is not Fab. Every time he was near we quickly turned the other way and just waited till we felt it was safe to look around. Eye contact could have brought a horrid encounter.

Everyone else had good humor. Lots of jolly happy folk. And a few hippies.

Later in the day we heard the telltale chime of the ice cream truck. Katie said it was just a ringtone. But the sound got closer and to my utter joy it was an ice cream boat! These people were just putting along and stopping every so often and selling ice cream out of a few coolers. When they came near, I dashed through the water and towards land to get a few dollars. I gobbled up a drumstick and bought Katie a little treat as well. Just perfect! Ice cream vendors must have it made.

We went in and then went out and sat in the sun. Then went in and came back out. We continued this cycle for four hours. We splashed, we swam, we threw seaweed at each other. Katie and I swam out very far and some dude in a boat told us to go back in because the current got strong. I wanted to be snarky because I felt like he was treating me like a city girl. But I held the snark at bay.

It was a really nice day. Full of new experience. I had never ridden in a Jeep before!

Back I went. Karen called to see if I wanted to hang out. I said sure. She said she wanted to meet for pizza. Then she called again and said she would meet later. Then she called and said she couldn't get the pizza. Then she texted and asked if I wanted to help her move her stuff to her car. So that's when I saw her. Got a few more posters. Took her stuff down. Said our goodbyes and woosh, off she went into the dusk.

Speaking of dusk, oh man do I like True Blood! Almost caught up. I find myself liking the secondary and tertiary characters as much, or even more, than the primary ones.

good ol

Almost went to bed without writing. Oops. Don’t have much to say today though. Mostly watched HBO shows.

Breakfast was a hash brown cheese vegetable mix. Tasty. Dinner was pizza. Also tasty.

Picked up my keys. They changed the locks so I had to exchange for fresh ones.

At 9:40, I went to Diana’s. She, Karen, and I were going to get together and go see District 9. Karen arrived just in time.

It was a fine walk to Pioneer Place. We passed through a pack of drippy looking teens.

District 9 is really good. Paced wonderfully, well acted, good effects that are also not trying too hard. The metaphor of the whole movie is really obvious but of course, still executed brilliantly. Highly recommended, even though quite a few people get violently splattered.

It was a lovely night walk. I only hung out for a little bit. Traded Dar! And Otto Zeplin for Scott Pilgrim. Good ol’ Diana with the good comic stuff.

goodie goodie goodies

Woke up to my phone’s alarm. My dream was reaching an exciting point, so I was disappointed that I couldn’t see it finish. I came with one suitcase and I am returning with three. One of them is packed inside the other in a Russian Nesting Luggage way of being. The other is Grandpa’s old suitcase. It has books in it.

Dad stayed behind. Basil was nowhere to be seen. I have a sliver on the back of my hand. I have not received a sliver in ages.

The drive to Tacoma was relatively uneventful. The traffic got tight around some construction but we made it perfectly on time. Checked my two suitcases and sat with mom. I rifled through my New Yorker clippings.

They say it is a fully book train. I seated myself with three other strangers. We have a table but I prefer having my laptop in my lap. It’s a nice day.

I’m thinking up names for my Jade Plant. It seems to be doing really well with its new soil. Sookie the Succulent? Jade Pinkett Smith?

Katie and Gabe were waiting at the train station. Waiting for meeee! It was so delightful. Gabe brought the hand trolley, even though it wasn't entirely needed. Luggage took a while but it eventually came out. The Max was only one train segment and it filled up fast. Then it got stuffed. It looked like Leverage was filming downtown as well. It was a shove to get off the max but we did it. The apartment is pretty much how I left it. That is to say it is still messy. Next four hours were a relaxation period. Mmmn. Dinner was rare cooked steak with goat cheese mashed potatoes and nice garden grown green beans. Mmmm. And it was arranged in a tower.

At 8pm it was time to head to Diana and Robin's for that is where Karen will be during her stay. She wasn't there so Diana and I chatted while Red Dwarf played in the background. Eventually Karen rolled in. We hugged and I was all happy about the short return of Karen. Yaay! And she brought posters. She brought a nice poster for each of us and a pile of cast offs to pick through? Guess what person my poster was promoting?

Ahhh it's such an amazing poster! It is above my bed. I want to put it in a better spot. The night was just Diana, Phil, Tabitha, and Tabitha's boyfriend Tim. We chatted and gossiped and caught up. Shared some stories. Shared some swag. I have some posters to give to other people, those who could not be at the sweet party.

Now it is late and I must sleep.

so long grandpa john

"Don't take me to a hospital, just take me to a mortuary!"



Saturday:

The memorial.

Brynne, Dan, Ben, Averie, Mom, Dad, Nate, Rubie, and myself all got off to a slow but steady start. Coffee was foraged. Showers were taken. As I was in the middle of mine, the power cut out. I finished it in the dark. The power came on within thirty minutes but still, it was a bit of an inconvenience. Food was laid out. Chairs were gathered. Brush was cleared for parking spots.

Averie and I took parking duties with Kirie. Greeted people and told them where to park. Rolfe, Alison, and Justin came. Doris, Mary, Eric, Steve, Sandy, Cathy... a long list of family and friends. Some people I've met a handful of times. Some not so much. But it was a good turnout. The weather held and it was a wonderful day.

Ben and Nate helped escort people to the house. Jeanette and Liam also came. I'd say around 30-40 people were there in total. So many drinks. So much food. Rubie's lumpia was a hit.

At a little after 2pm, we gathered and the memorial began. Brynne started with a beautiful eulogy. I held hands with mom and cried a little bit. Kirie, Bill, Doris, Ben, Celia, Averie, Mark, Milo, and others spoke. I rambled about the endless artistic support the family has. Grandpa was a member of the Order of the Silver Marmot. It was love at first site when he met my grandmother. They were together for 60 years. He was a lover of the wilderness and of art. It was a wonderful memorial.

People left but many people stayed. The numbers dwindled ever so slowly. Desert was cake and cheesecake and cookies and just piles of sweets. We gorged and conversation went on.

Chatted with Liam, who got progressively hyper as the sugar set in. He never quite got that he should leave Honey Bear alone (Averie's dog who isn't good with anyone under 10) and had to be consoled when she finally snipped at him.

At the end we (that is Celia, Dave Olson, Brynne, Rolfe, Alison, Justin, Nathan, Rubie, Mom, Dad, Kirie, and myself) went to the beach and ignited a bonfire. Dave went for a night swim to see the phosphorescence. Old songs about murder were sung. More and more people called it a night (amazingly it was Dan, Ben, and Averie who were the first to call it a night). At the end it was just Dave and myself. We talked about comics and art. He slept in the tent.

Sunday:

The morning after! Light breakfast. Mom divided up huge portions of left overs for people.

Cleaning was a long process. When the Garman/Edwards left, it was time for a beach break. The sun was out and I traded jeans and long sleeves for my very much underused this summer bikini. I lounged. Mom kayaked. Dad snorkled. Celia swam. I flipped over and lounged some more. We feasted on left overs and cool soda. Dad and I tossed shells and tried to land them on a rock. After I put some rocks back on the seawall to replenish what I tossed.

Then back to packing. Food, clothes, buckets, chairs, cooler chests. It was a lot. Mom drove the motorhome, dad drove the truck, and I took the Prius. I haven't driven in a while but I did just fine. Listened to Louis Armstrong and some NPR stories about pinball championships and the photographer Mike Disfarmer.

When I got home, I noted and felt how pink my belly was. I'm a little bit sunburned but not that bad. Just my front bits.

Ate a burger. Looked at slideshows.

I return to Portland tomorrow. 12:05.

drinks and drinks and drinks and drinks

Thursday:

Time to return to Pulali and get it sorted for Grandpa’s Memorial.

Dad made me scrambled eggs for breakfast. Mmmm. I gathered together some weekend things into Grandpa’s suitcase and put it into the Prius. I was slow getting ready to leave but mom still took longer. Dad will be coming tomorrow for some fixit things.

First we stopped at the bank to do bank things. Then we went to Costco to do Costco things. Bought a huge pile of various drinks (Perrier, cola in glass bottles, Thomas Kemper, San Pellegrino, water, and Izze) and some generic food platters. I picked up a hot dog while mom went through the line. Costco has those awesome hand driers that actually get your hands dry. The kind that forces the air down and off as opposed to just generally warming it. I first saw those driers in Japan (2005 suddenly feels so long ago).

Met one of Mom’s buddies and then we played Costco Tetris with the groceries. We couldn’t have fit much else. Trunk was packed, the back seat was packed. The suspension couldn’t have handled much more.

It rained for most of the day. Sometimes it was rain, sometimes it was a mist. Sometimes it was just damp. The air when it rains smells so nice. So clean.

Helped haul things out of the car. Lit some incense. Looked at photo albums. Helped haul some trashcans down. The day went by really fast. Before we knew it, it was 6pm. We drove into Brinnon and picked up some ice and milk. Watched a little TV. Looked through more photo albums.

You know how some kids have an ever changing face? Well mine has kinda stayed the same. I’m very easy to pick out in photos. It’s lovely to look at old photos of Mom and Celia and Dad. Lots of photos. It’s really nice. Celia stopped by and we looked through the photos again.

Tomorrow is the big hard labor day. Lots of bushes to be pruned back. Vacuuming to be done. Brynne & co are coming by later on, so that should be swell.

Friday:

Slept okay. Slept on and off. It was okay. Had some dreams.

Had a bowl of Cheerio's for breakfast and hot cider. Did a lot of cleaning up and chores with mom.

Trimmed back the trees.
Raked the madrona leaves off the path.
Moved the firewood.
Trimmed more trees back.

Mom, pop, and I all sat and drank a coca cola from the glass bottles. Quite fun, even though there were plenty of needles falling from the tree.

Nathan and Rubie showed up. Rubie rolled lumpia. Nathan shared in the trimming.

I don't really do this much labor.

After all that, Nathan and I put on swimsuits. Nathan got in up to his knees and then fell backwards and got in up to his neck for a second. I went all the way in, eventually. Did a lap around the buoy. After the buoy I grabbed onto the kayak Nathan was in and got a little tow.

I took a very hot bath to recover from the water and got dressed. Once I sat down I felt so very tired. I did a lot of labor. Even broke a sweat! Nathan, Rubie, Mom, and I played Settlers of Catan. Nathan got a good lead early on and Mom got fed up and left. We removed her pieces from the board and then Dad came in and replaced them and played. Nathan won by a very big majority.

Celia and Lisa mum went out in the kayaks. Nathan, Rubie, and I had a little internet party at Celia's. Kirie came by and together we took the Citizen's test that Rubie is going to take soon. We didn't do so well, but Rubie did.

game art (if you can call it that)

Slept in even later. No one was around so I had to fend for my own dietary needs. No fun not having Gabe around. Booo! Gabe is also cool to just hang around with and talk about Hung and Breaking Bad. Booo being in Seabeck and not having any friends.

Nathan asked for some quick graphics for a Zombie game. Just a small overhead view of the player, some zombies, and some fences. Didn't take too long. Was fun though.

The neighbor Bill stopped by and gave us some crab. Dad made pot stickers. MMm. Not much happened. We go back to Pulali tomorrow.

darn you poland and your awesome poster design

Uhm. Yeah. Nothing much happened today either. Here are some cool foreign movie posters to fill up space:






Found my long lost cousin Justin on Facebook. We talked and caught up and all that.

Mom and I walked to the end of the driveway and got the mail.

Brushed Basil.

Dinner was spaghetti and pasta. Mom made a fuss about how unfunny Conan O'Brien's monologue was.

Finished season 6 of Buffy and season 3 of Angel. Only one season left of Buffy now, and two of Angel.

ah ah ah ah stayin' indoors stayin' indoors

Slept way in again. Way way in.

Ma, Pa, and myself gathered around for another game of Settlers of Catan. It was a slow start and it picked up steam with mom and myself tied at around 7. Then mom started wandering around avoiding playing the game because she was tired of it. Eventually I won.

Then mum left for errands. It was a gray day and I stayed inside. Munched on various thing throughout the day.

Dad and I dug up some more potatoes for dinner. Some were quite hefty. You could break a window with them, provided it was a thin window. We had chicken for dinner. I'm getting rather tired of chicken.

Mom says I keep referring to the water near Seabeck as the Puget Sound, when really it is the Hood Canal. I say, seeing as how it is all connected at the top of the peninsula I can call it whatever I want.

Kinda just sticking to myself these days. Might hang out with Mariel on Wednesday.

+2 triva bonus

Finally had a really good sleep in today. It takes a lot of work to catch up on sleep. Now my sleeping schedule is out of whack, but at least I am not so darned tired.

Sun came out today. It was nice. Not all that hot but still warm.

Did I mention that Holly, the dog, has received a haircut? She looks like half the dog she once was. Almost regular sized. Basil is still a behemoth.

Dad made orange rolls for breakfast. Mmmm.

Mom gardened. I wasted time.

Later in the day we went into town. Shopping! I wanted some more jeans. My other pairs are getting a bit tight from Gabe's cooking. It's easier to just go up a size than to exercise. Heh. None of the shirts really sparked my fancy, but I have enough shirts. I first picked up some skinny leg style of jeans but they were far too long and a bit tight (though jeans should always fit a bit tight when you get them because they loosen up as you wear them). When looking for some pairs that were shorter in length, I noticed a big glob of snot on a teeshirt. Gross!

Anyway, two classic rise short length size 6 pairs of jeans later, we were out the store! Mom picked up a pair of corduroys. I had tried on the style but it didn't suit me.

Dinner was steak and potatoes. We dug the taters out of the garden. Some nice sized ones had grown, and some smaller. Boiled and delicious, they were. It was very scrumptious. After dinner, we all gathered round and watched Pleasantville. I noticed that both Marc Blucas and Danny Strong were extras. I have watched way too much Buffy. Oh, and the actor who plays Pete Campbell in Mad Men played Connor in Angel! Neat!

So that was a nice evening. I think mom goes back to work tomorrow.

nuffin

Not much to report for today. Woke up early and sat in bed watching TV on my computer.

Dad made me an omelet and some bacon. We watched Coraline on his computer. Took about three tellings for him to believe that yes, it was indeed hand animated and not entirely CG. He then spent 5 minutes trying to figure out why the other side of the disc wouldn't work. Eventually he noticed that the disc was not double sided. The DVD menu just lied about saying there was content on the other side.

Mostly sat about. Nibbled on food. Watched stuff. Relaxed. Not all that warm.

School starts August 31st. Just over three weeks away. Suddenly it is so very close. I can't wait though.

Mom went out with her gal pals for the day. She saw Julie & Julia. She said the parts about Julia were much more interesting.

Time to rest. Recline. I think there are some family plans for tomorrow.

thursday/friday

Thursday:

Another cold day. Totally sucks. I keep getting the sniffles. I don’t know if it is attached to dander or wool or dust or what. After an orange juice and toast breakfast I helped mom move books around. Found a great old two volume copy of Grimm stories illustrated by Sendak. There is a nice volume of Bradbury short stories. Lots of dusty paper backs and a few moldy volumes. Pretty extensive collection.

The dust got to me really bad and I had to escape and just stand and breath fresh air. Mold and dust is not good at all for me. Lunch was poached eggs on English muffins with cheese. Mmm. I’ve been sifting through those massive Phaidon art books. Getting inspired and all that.

The radio is set to this great station of mostly 60’s and 70’s generic hits.

Mom won Settlers of Catan. We went out in the kayak’s. I eventually managed to get really warm and toasty while exerting the effort it took to get my wimpy arms paddling. Then when I was warm I wanted to swim but by the time it took to get my swimsuit on, I had cooled off enough. So I just took a bath.

The So You Think You Can Dance finale was awesome! So many great numbers. So much dancing can happen when you don't have to critique it. I voted for Jeanine. Go Jeanine!

Friday:

Woke up early to Mom's ringtone. Dozed a little more. Eventually got up and went with mom to run Port Townsend errands. Recycling. Goodwill. We went through the drive through for breakfast/early lunch.

Another dreary day. We went to QVC and picked up some staples for the house. Flowers.

I went right to bed when we got back to Pulali Point. Neglected to help mom put the groceries away. I slept for about two hours. Or maybe three. A long while. It is hard to get a good night sleep in Pulali.

Dad had arrived and made us dinner. Burgers! Delicious. At dinner mom said that we were going to spend another night. I did not want to stay in Pulali any longer. It was cold and emotionally heavy. I wasn't sleeping. Mum agreed to go home tonight. Packed books into a suitcase and stuffed my clothes in the bag. I went home with dad in the truck. Talked about silk screening.

It's nice to be back in Seabeck. Big cozy bed. Basil.

grandparents & bug bites

8 minute blog because we have to get over to the other house to watch So You Think You Can Dance!

Managed to get some good sleep once I dug out the comforter. Nice and snug. Dad went back to Seabeck to do some work there. Some prep work and all that. I went through the New Yorkers and looked for interesting illustrations and articles. Found a David Sedaris short.

Ma debated going home for the rest of the day. Take a break from the emotional weight of Pulali. We decided to stick around. Mom is going to sleep in the tent most likely.

We visited Grandma Pedersen. She folded and unfolded her blanket and was generally quiet. She walked over to the couch and fell asleep. It wasn't a long visit. She doesn't look like the Grandma I remember. Not anymore.

Afterwards we went to Shanghai Restaurant and met Grandma and Grandpa Spencer for lunch. They had eaten recently so they didn't quite dig into their Egg Foo Yung so much. I had beef with broccoli and mom had the salmon special which was served sizzling. My beef was tender. It was a good meal.

Some drinks and other things were bought at Safeway and then Pulali Bound we were once again. Hard to believe the round trip was over 60 miles. So much driving is required. Portlanders whine about driving five miles. But city miles are, obviously, different than country ones.

I set up my computer outside Celia's cabin and she and mom took a dip. I relaxed with my old friend the Internet for a while. Dinner was pasta with sauce that included bits from the burgers from two nights ago. Now for dancing! Mom says she bought four tickets. Exciting!

the old fashioned way

Got up early. It is hard to sleep in when people are moving about and working. Jeanette and Liam came over for a visit and some cocoa. The day is cold. And I don’t have pants. Boo!

Breakfast was cider and cheerios. Ma and I took a quick trip to Brinnon to pick up some things. Standard little tiny store with just name brand, cheap grabs. No vegetables or other things that could be marked as healthy. After all that we played a little game of Settlers of Catan. It was hard to keep mom at the table. She wanted to be productive and all that. I ended up winning just by having development cards with points and the largest army. I didn’t have very fruitful settlements. Mom and Dad both had huge roads and plenty of cities.

First up was the bathroom. Cleaning to paint it. I browsed through the books in the upstairs room. Plenty of Shakespeare. A lot of 60’s paperbacks. Found a 1941 Silk Screen book. Fascinating to look at the older, far more complicated procedure. Also a 1961 hardcover of James and the Giant Peach. It might be a first edition. Beautiful.

When the paint needed time to dry, Dad and I got out the little onesie sailboat. Pretty easy thing to rig up. It is a converted row boat I believe. It took a little while for me to remember how to do the sailing thing (I took a class a few years ago). It came back and I went up and down and up and down. Waved to Kirie. Waved to Mom. Celia came back from work and put on a swimsuit. She got on the inner tube and I attached her to the boat and towed her around for a while. That was quite fun. Got some good breezes. Ma and Pa went out in the kayaks for a little bit. I tripped coming out of the sail boat and got wet. Dad traded with me and mom and Celia swam. I showered.

Dinner was a second feast. Celia made a clam soup and heated up the leftovers. I filled up on bread unfortunately. What I had was quite good. Mark, Kirie, Mom, Dad, Celia, and I enjoyed it all. Num num. The mosquitoes feasted as well.

It was a relaxing day. I’m undefeated in all my Settlers of Catan gaming. Bwahha.

mmm cake

Most of my morning was occupied with packing. Taking the stuff in my suitcase and putting it in a smaller bag. For the week I shall be over at Pulali Point, my grandparents place. Mom and pop are doing some repairs. I will be swimming and reading and relaxing and taking hikes. All that.

Pulali Point is on the Puget Sound. It has a little beach. The grounds contain four structures; the grandparents house, a two story garage, Celia's log cabin, and Kirie's house. They are spread out through the woods and all have a beautiful view of the water.

The water was perfectly beautiful when we arrived. Just calm and fairly clear. Hugged Celia and gave her a Milagro.

I really took some of these views for granted. Being in Portland for so long and returning. So beautiful. So quiet. Just the water and the rustle of trees and the occasional animal.

Celia, Mom and I took a dip in the water. Not very cold. Perfect for swimming. The shadow of the land stretched pretty far over the water but not far enough for us Pedersen swimmers. We heard people from the mainland. People that were soon revealed as Kirie, Mark, Jeanette, and Liam. Dinner was ready to be underway! We didn't even have to lift a finger.

Ma and I showered and when we came back most of the burgers were done, the chicken was ready, corn was available. A big fresh delicious omnivore feast! I was full on bread and corn before I got a chance at a burger. Oh well. It was good. After it all, we kicked back with some tea. Tasty tea. The mosquito coils were rearranged. Photos were taken.

After dinner, it was time for walkies. The girls and Liam got their hiking shoes on and the boys took naps. It was a long trail through the woods. One I don't think I have walked for a while. Mom and Celia left a little early because Oggie was having trouble walking (Oggie is a doggie). I continued on. We talked about Loch Ness (Liam is a believer) and school (Jeanette thinks I'm popular).

It was about 9pm when we got back. It was that time where it is dark but you can still see and everything is blue and gray. Quite nice. Hauled my computer over to Celia's because she has wifi. She served me cake and ice cream. Good aunts never change.

goodbye matty

Back again in a train station waiting and writing.

Had a restless night sleep. Got up with the alarm which I am pretty sure I turned off. Uh oh. Anyway, showered and got dressed. Found some cool pants in the free pile yesterday so I am wearing those. They fit pretty well though the length is suspect.

Breakfast of oatmeal and tea. Cuddled Luna. Finished my packing. I left at 1:30 to catch a 1:44 streetcar. Arrived at Subway right at 2 to meet Matt.

Matt is going back to New Jersey on the 12th. Won’t see him again unless I am in the New York/Jersey area. I strongly doubt he will return to Portland. He bought me my sandwich and drink. A farewell lunch. We talked about hypothetical stuff. I muttered and rambled in the way that I do. We walked to the station together. He was very nice about lugging my luggage. I didn’t want to bring the big blue bag. Need a slightly smaller one for short trips that can double as carry on.

Hugged Matt goodbye. Now I sit and wait the hour out.

*****

The train was a double decker. It is extra wobbly and there are no power outlets for computers. Napped and read and thought. The train was about 20 minutes late and all the toilets went out. It took a while to get off the train because of a lady. The conductors were asking if everybody was off and we cried out, "No!"

Mom and pop were waiting. Hurray! We hugged and waited for my bag to unload.

Drove straight home. Mom reheated some chicken and rice. They both sifted through the Applicant book. After dinner we played Settlers of Catan. I won. I got some really good rolls that gave me plenty of wood and I had a port so I was able to trader pretty effectively and often. I won, hahaha! Had a huge road and a couple cities. Next time, we shall see.

It is warm but not as hot as it has been. Basil is still obese. Tomorrow we go to Pulali Point for a chunk of the week.

♥ stormy

Stayed in bed till noon. Past noon even. Had a dream I was on Britain's Next Top Model. I came in half way through and all the judges loved me. We had a challenge where we had to decorate a mannequin display. To do so we had to locate the pieces of clothing by shifting through this pile of parchment. Most of them contained DaVinci's drawings or food recipes. I couldn't find the one that listed the directory for wigs. I tried to imagine my mannequin turning into Al Gore to keep me in the dream but alas, I still woke up.

Showered, tidied a little bit. Gabe made eggs and hash browns. Almost done with Dead Like Me. Taking a really depressing turn, still enjoy it. Not quite as charming as Pushing Daisies.

The day went by really fast. Staying in bed really late helps for that. Packed things up. I don't have that much to bring home but when it comes to having to lug a few big bags versus one suitcase, I went with the suitcase.

Katie's sister K...Katherine. No. K-something. Shoot. Anyway, she came over and so did Luke. We four went out to the southeast. We went to Devil's Point. A strip club. Now I know mom doesn't quite approve. Says they take advantage of women. I don't know about that when it comes to Devil's Point. Those ladies seem to know exactly what they are doing. Stormy, Rocket, Piper, and Gwen. They danced and scores of people tossed money on the stage. Gwen played with fire. It was really cool the first time but after that it became evident she only knew the same four tricks. Still, pretty cool thing to watch. Stormy is the notorious dancer. So notorious that I had heard of her through the Portland comic scene. She was a flirt. Danced mostly with the audience. When the large crew of lesbians came in, wow they went wild for her. Hard to get a spot at the stage near the end. Rocket had some sweet moves. Very energetic. These ladies are in shape. It takes a lot to do some of the moves that they do. Anyway. Yeah. I had fun. It was a pretty cool place. Only one stage. Small. Kody, of Kurt and Kody, showed up. I sat at the stage for a couple numbers. Stormy was friendly towards me. The girls dug her, the guys were more reluctant towards her charms. None of the dancers looked emaciated, which was nice.

So yeah. Had fun there. Probably will catch Mom's evil eye tomorrow for it but whatever. This ain't Kitsap.

papa berger

Bleh. Feel terrible. Short disrupted sleep does not work.

Started the day with helping Doug and Rick move Karen's stuff. Doug is Karen's pop and Rick is his friend. Phil and Andy Bone came and helped, as did Gabe. Karen has a HUGE amount of stuff. It filled a whole Uhaul. The kind with the attic space, not the trailer. And I mean filled. Books, shelves, clothes, craft things, couch, cabinets. Tons of stuff. That little lady is more of a collector than me, she just has organizational skills.

Gabe was blown away by the scale of the boxes. He had not seen her place before. We worked for two hours. I mostly helped by keeping doors open. I'm not good at lifting. At noon Andy left for work and the rest of us got pizza. Mmm Pizza. Good ol' Bellagio's. Doug, or rather Mr. Berger, is really nice. He lives in Poulsbo. They upgraded from Bremerton.

The rest was the light stuff and cleaning. I scrubbed the walls a little bit and swept. So empty. I wonder how many boxes I'll move out in. I have a lot of books and clothes, but my trinkets are mostly small things. Have the decoupaged chest of drawers and the head lamps.

Karen's Ikea shelves were trashed. The Billys fell apart as they were lowered to the ground. They were fully decimated by the boys.

We were all paid in checks. That's right. Paid. I made money today! I could go buy mom another birthday present. But I won't because my bike has a flat tire! The tube must have a hole or something. It can be filled with air but once I sit on it, it goes flat in a minute. I don't like to walk. Very lazy I am. It is also hot, I don't want to spend more time in this weather than I have to.

Mailed a few letters. One to Karen, one to Llyw. They were bulky and the lady behind the desk gave me some hassle about their irregular shapes. Some mail to my traveling friends. Put my check straight into my Key bank account. I went to the downtown branch. They were much nicer there than the one on Burnside. The lady who helped me had a really pretty name. Enjoille I believe it was.

Kind of checked out for the rest of the day. Napped. Alternated between a couple television programs. I think I'll go to sleep early. Still need to pack.

can't even do songs that don't require a key

Even drunk, I am fully aware that I can't carry a tune. But I guess I'll start at the start.

Went out in the bright day to run some errands. A couple things needed buying from a certain shop up on 23rd. The people in the store were very nice, very helpful. They let me get as much as I wanted to get and didn't load me down with salesman trickery. And if they did, well it didn't feel like they did.

After that, made a quick stop at Trader Joe's. Fantastic amount of A/C there. Just lovely.

The rest of the day was spent in hiding from the sun.

At around 8, I put on a nicer outfit for Tom's birthday. Katie did my makeup. I'm hopeless with makeup. Never learned. She did a smoky eye. At first it was startling to see me with that much goop on my face but I grew used to it. I undid my braids and tousled my hair.

We were the first to arrive at The Ambassador. First after Tom. I gave him a card and a To(m)blerone. Started off with a Long Island Iced Tea. It wasn't the best one I'd had. All the drinks I ordered were meh. A lot of people showed up, even Tom's mom Carla. She was delightful. The twins Kurt and Kody were there. Everyone was nice even though I was meeting half of them for the first time. The karaoke queue was long. Katie sung Hey Jude and later she and Tom did Under Pressure together. I put Rock Lobster in under my name and by the time the song rolled around I was more drunk than I was aware. I don't think I did Rock Lobster all that well but the large table of people I was with sung with me and carried what I couldn't. Uhg. Karaoke is fun to watch but I don't think it is my thing so much. Heh.

It was fun, even with my poor performance. After we were to Kurt and Kody's for a little after party. They had a really nice cat. I sort of napped a little bit (yeah right, napped). Kurt and Kody are Katie's old old long time friends. They act as well and were in a Disney channel movie. They have a really nice cat. Eventually Katie, Gabe and I went home. I cleared my bed of the standard debris and curled up all cozy and fell asleep for good.

journey to the east

Starting to cool down. And by that I mean 88 degrees or so.

Didn't quite sleep in but I took a nap later on.

J and I had a little girl date. I walked to Fox Tower and met her for the 5:15 showing of (500) Days of Summer. A movie about love and how devastating it can be. Also a good movie as well. Believable characters, swell acting from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey "Trillian" Deschanel. It fit together nicely. Nonsequential narration but still easy to follow. Sad but not heart wrenching. A good movie.

After we braved a few more minutes of sun and caught the number 12 to the other side. Riding a Portland bus! First time I've done it in ages.

A few blocks took us to 24th and Burnside. The Screen Door is a cozy, jam packed little place. Very warm with cute waitstaff. J and Gabe both said it was good. I trust their opinions of food. I ordered a Mint Julep because J ordered the Porchswing Lemonade. I wanted the lemonade but felt weird ordering it as well. I should have just ordered it. Not that the Mint Julep was bad, it just isn't my kind of drink. I had the screen door plate, which is any combination of sides you wish (well three of them). I had mac and cheese, fries, and a pork chop. It came speedily and was scrumptious! We ate and drank and I ended up rambling a little bit much about a certain subject.

The sun descended and so we left. J went back to the other side with me on the 19. So sweet, even though it was going in the other direction for her. The only max available was a yellow so I walked the rest of the distance. The breeze from outside is nice now.

Tomorrow I have to run some errands, buy a train ticket (I'm going back to Washington for two weeks, starting this Sunday), and go celebrate Tom's birthday. Going to get my karaoke on, hell yeah!

heat continues

800 entries! Whoo whooo!

At around 2, J texted me asking if I wanted to enjoy a few hours of A/C with her. The only stipulation was that we would be seeing The Ugly Truth. At free, the price was right. It was predictable. Had a few good moments but it wasn't anything great. Gerard Butler's biceps were probably the best past (next to Gerard Butler himself). Tomorrow J and I are going to see 500 Days of Summer. Another movie about love all though I think this one will be actually good.

Still, it's always nice to get out of the house and see a friend.

Afterwards I went to school to touch up the Cordia portrait. It didn't reproduce quite as nice. The Macs in the lab had HUGE screens. Gigantic. Never seen one so big. Just a total DAANNG experience. It was also nice and cool. Still, I had to leave.

Lots of bicyclists out today. Saw a shirtless one. Smiled at him. He smiled back. He was wearing a helmet and looked like he actually washed his clothes (well his shorts at least, who knows what state his shirts are in). My kind of Portland biker.

Watched Torchwood. Gabe, Katie, and I went threesies on a Bellagio's pizza. We got half butchers block and half mother earth. Aka half MEAATTT and half artichoke and garlic and la la la. It was good. Uhg. So hot.

Mummy, when is a good time for me to come home?

102

102 degrees with one little tiny fan and no A/C.

Had a really bad night sleep. Upstairs neighbor was having some bedspring issues for an hour and a half.

Braided my hair again. Drank lots of water.

Went to school at around 4:50 to scan the paper planes. Sadly I only got one in and then the library closed. Talked to Amanda till 5:30 and then I left for Yoga.

Thankfully Yoga has a shadow from the building, otherwise it would have been intolerable. Very warm and toasty. Some cute babies were about. My mind wasn't quite in it today.

Afterwards, I stepped into the Art Direction class for the last hour and a half. There were only two critiques left. Mackenzie's mock Reader's Digest had already been discussed. Didn't mind. I wasn't asked to say anything. It was interesting to see all my classmates illustrations. Karen's one was nice but it didn't quite fit the body of the article (not her fault) nor did it seem like the person who chose her had any idea why a person would pick Karen. As in, if I wanted a bold poster design with type I would go for Karen. If I wanted a painted still life of food, I wouldn't go for Karen. Dominic's fit perfectly. It was about brewing beer. Very light hearted. J's was a nice illustration but it didn't fit the style of the rest of the article.

After that, Wes Youssi gave a little slide show of his art and design. He did the cover for Umberto Eco's The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana. It was cool. He was nice. There was A/C and drinks and treats. The sun had gone down by the time I left school but it was still, very believably hot.

Rest of the night was a dead space of watching Eureka and Buffy. It doesn't drop below 80 for the next 10 days.

now that is a cool tattoo

At the symposium, this girl had a very rad tattoo. It was of a waffle iron. It was in the crook of her elbow (the soft side where it folds...I think there is an official word for that side, or maybe it is just all the elbow). Anyway, when she folded her arm it closed the waffle iron because each side of the iron was done on each side of the crease. It was so totally cool. Blew my mind. It was really well rendered as well. Lots of nice tattoos and the zine symposium.

Arrived on time and set up. The lady said that if there was empty space next to you, you could fill out into it if you liked. So I did. A full table! Lacey came at around 11:30. She sold four of her comics. I traded alot. Some of the trades were very awesome, some I was kinda more meh about but still my work is getting out there. That's good. The symposium is more about becoming a familiar face than making phenomenal sales. I sold 17 comics over the course of three days (17 hours total, Stumptown is 16 spread over two days). Sold two of the posters. Karen sold three of the Milagro today (when she got back to me with the price which was a buck). Need a more vertical display and more wares to sell. Variety. Because right now its the comic, a poster...and that's it. We are making a pact to quit art if we don't have anything new by Stumptown.

I sold 46 comics at Stumptown. Didn't trade quite so much. Like I said, people come to Stumptown with money.

Exchanged a new plane with BT. Flew one to the Reading Frenzy guy. He was cute and we had a great conversation about Zach Smith and David Lynch via the plane. His flights to my side were a lot better than mine to his. I'm just dreadful at throwing them.

The revolutionary guy was gone and Jason and Sarah were next to me. They had a box with sticks set up. The sticks had a little mini clothes line esque set up which held one dollar mini comics. Awesome set up. They were really nice people with a great sense of humor. We pitched each other every now and again. Jason had some really beautiful comic work.

Lacey bought tater tots for lunch. Mmm. Jim stopped by. His hair is longer. Like a damn hippie.

In the last 2 hours I did a circuit and spent about $23. Not a whole lot interested me. Bought Jesse Reklaw's Slow Wave compilation. 16 dollars marked down to 10 for the convention. He vaguely remembered me from Stumptown. I told him my dream about Batman eating coleslaw.

I wore longer pants so I didn't get hurt sliding under the table.

Tomorrow, if I remember, I'll scan the paper planes.

Met some nice people. It was fun. Need more stuff. I'd do it again for sure but I won't have such high hopes for big bucks. Stumptown 2010, The Perceivers are coming for you!

Spent the rest of the day indoors. Gabe made tacos. Caught up on So You Think You Can Dance. Great thing about watching them online is that you can just skip to the dancing. Loved the 5 girl Bollywood number and the Seven Nation Army routine. So cool!

Braided my hair for the convention. I felt really cute with it like that. And I like how it crimped once I removed the braids.

Lacey is a great table mate, just want to say. Fun and easy to sit next to. Gets what is going on.

paper planes and a single perceiver

Rushed downstairs right at 10 to get Karen's box. A sign was up saying they were closed for training and that they were sorry for the inconvenience. Before I swore to the heavens I heard someone behind the closed door and knocked and booyah I got my package. Smaller than I thought.

Raced off to the symposium. The set up took a while. The box contained a lot of large loose letters and extras. Taped them to five lines of string so that it spells out
THE
PERCE
IVERS
in front of the table. Real slick. Karen made little Milagro displays with pins. I never quite got down the pitch for them. She also didn't include a price. Nor have her phone turned out. I sold two for three dollars. One to a lady who knew what they were and one to Nathalie who also knew. Some of the pin shapes are a little ambiguous and hard to identify. Still, the half table filled out.

A guy (Dominic) from Laughing Horse Bookstore took the table next to me. He was pretty cool, into revolutionaries and all that. Cassie and Bethany took my other table half. Pretty cool blond Pacific Northwest chicks. They liked all my little drawings. And were fun to talk to.

Made about 18$. Traded mostly. The symposium is such a hard sell, then again I'm not buying anything.

10 to 5. Spent most of it at my table. Left to grab a free bagel.

I brought a lot of paper to sketch on. I ended up drawing doodles and folding them into paper planes and chucking them at the tables across from me. They then drew on them and tossed them back at me. BT and I had an epic paper plane. I took out half of one tables display but they had good humor about it. Dominic (Laughing Horse, not Snacks) and I made an epic plane. Well one of his friends the the folding. It was out of the paper from one of his poster remnants. It was very aerodynamic. It got one table minder in the chest. He wasn't too happy so we ended up tossing the big one back and forth between us and the F-Bomb table. I had so much fun drawing and chucking the planes. I sort of neglected my pitching duties. Will certainly scan them.

The day moved by really fast.

Lacey came by in the last hour and joined the little Perceivers table. She will be back tomorrow. She sold a comic to Nathalie. I sold a little poster to her as well. Whoo whoo!!

For dinner I had sushi at Diana and Robin's. Diana is a master roller. Afterwards we walked to a gelato place on 23rd and Kearney. A long walk. In flip flops. We had a good long talk about Doctor Who.

Now I'm just going to put my sore feet up. 10-4. Last 6 hours. Hopefully I'll sell a little better.

"Luna"-gacy

The package didn't come in the morning so I set off to Friday with a big feeling of dread that all the weekend might just be my comic, Luna, and Katie with Jade Plants.

Dom and Michaela already had their neat little set up. Mine took all of two minutes to put together. Blanket. Comic. Prints. The price tags took a little while longer. 2$ for the comic, 50 cents for a Luna, and 3$ for the two color Katie with Jade Plants. They are not registered all that well so yeah.

The Luna prints sold out pretty much, save for a few of the blue on blue ones. Some people remarked how cheap they were. Personally, I would have felt bad for charging more seeing as how I gave away 150 of them to family and friends. I want my art to be shared and put up, not bartered for. A few people were psyched about the comic but not as many at Stumptown.

I traded a comic and a luna. One to a very nice shy girl with pretty features. A man with hair like Wolverine bought my comic and I didn't even have to give him a hard sell. And I'm not being mean, he must have genuinely styled his hair like Wolverine. The side tufts, the mutton chops. All the way!

All in all, I made $21 for about four hours behind the table. Seems not like much but the numbers are good. About 7 comics and 19 Lunas. Now that I'm just down to the comic, it will either be a buy or not. And there was not that many people wandering around. The crowd is very different from Stumptown.

Stumptown Comics Fest
+bigger name publishers
+larger crowd
+participants in a slightly higher income bracket
+mostly comics but is open to prints and zines
-costs more for a table
Portland Zine Symposium
+free admission
+cheap, easy to get tables
+mostly self publication
-small crowd
-participants in a slightly lower income bracket
-not as much comic folk

For showcasing a comic, go to Stumptown. For showcasing cool printing, go to PZS. Combining both? Do both.

My table was slightly almost directly across from Robopocalypse. BT and Matt mostly manned the table. BT's moustache was all dishelved. He should use that moustache wax that he handmade. I tossed a few paper airplanes with doodles on the paper at them. One of how their table looked and one of BT thinking, "What ever happened to Orlando Bloom?" Because seriously, whatever happened to him? I shared some cookies with them (oh yeah, I went to Safeway to get some change and some yeast and chocolate milk. Gabe also made me a sandwich that I ate half before leaving and the other half at around 4). It's nice being near familiar faces. Dom, Thom, and Michaela have a table farther away. I can see them and they can see me but thats about it.

Rustin, the guy from my failed internship, was also there. He said something about feeling guilty or ashamed or something. Not sorry. He didn't say he felt sorry. Dom and some other people came up when he was at my table and he didn't stick around. So thank you Dom, it was too early for me to have an awkward moment.

A lot of people loved Luna. Of course. Some of James' roommates were delighted to meet the person who drew the cat. I love it when my art preceeds me. If I died tomorrow, at least I have left a legacy.

Did I mention the guy with Wolverine hair? Yes? Okay.

I left my table for a minute and turned around to see people eyeing my art. No one else is coming to take over. 7 hours tomorrow, by myself. Well Michaela and people offered to watch my table if ever I want to wander. I want to make some more money first. No buying unless I earn. Well, I might buy lunch from Subway. Unless Gabe makes me another sandwich.

My table right now is next to some anarchists. My halftable mate and next door table mate have not arrived yet. Stuff I have overheard from their table:
"It's like an anti-patriarchy scene right?"
"What's your name?" "Shirt, and yours?" "Yuglo."

Adam from Australia and I had a nice chat. He had a thick accent and we chatted about travels. I mentioned living in Australia with my oil rig working pop and he recommended a book call "Don't Tell Mum I Work On The Rigs, She Thinks I'm A Piano Player in a Whore House." Does this sound like something acceptable for dad to read? Hmmm. Paul Carter wrote it.

Met some nice people. Met some really pretty people (mostly the girls through, the guys are more along the lines of Derelicte).

I sat and wrote and looked sad and lonely.

The building is a real challenge to get into. You have to take the right stairwell or else you'll wind up in a different section with no way to get across the floor. Doesn't make any sense to me.

I came home at around 7 to an email about me recieving a package!! Karen's I hope! If one of you loving family members sent me something...well it better be something awesome. But yay, I'll have the set up. And I will look more like a Zinester printer than a huge lonely nerd.

sweet, I get to sleep in

Regarding mom's question: I will be selling my comic "Fifth Chapter of a Larger Story" at the Symposium. Karen's box still hasn't shown and I asked the desk if anything has come because I stopped getting emails when things arrive for me. The symposium does not start till 2:30 so I hope that her stuff will come. Doing things the non Internet way is too slow. Too bad you can't download letterpress zines.

Oh well.

Finished my Illustrations. Talked to Josh and Janessa. I suppose I could have done a little better but I think the aesthetic works with the magazine. I already know some of the problems the images have. It isn't technically too late... anyway. Did that. Posted it. Went home.

Thighs are not so bad anymore. Adam gave us some of the stuff that was left over from his moving out. Jars of pasta, various seasonings, homemade sauerkraut, tissues, etc. He will be back eventually. He brought some bath salts as well so maybe I'll have one of those things (a bath) in the morning.

Have my symposium pile ready. Nothing says how much it costs but I'll make little signs. Comic is $2, the Lunas will probably be $1. Sure I gave them away but my customers don't need to know that.

It will just be me at the table. Have a couple people say they will visit but I shall see. J will be there. Mmm. Karen will be around for Stumptown. We have agreed if we both get a table for Stumptown and both do not have anything new to put on it we are bums. Lazy bums who are in the wrong career. Course Karen has a jump what with being at Hammerpress and staying there for another semester. Did I mention lovely Karen will be in Kansas City through the rest of the year? Well she will be. I miss her. She is all sassy and cool.

Pile of Buns

A pile of burger buns for a mock Reader's Digest article.

Art directed by Mackenzie Bartels.

Photoshop.

Cordia Harrington

Finished portrait of Cordia Harrington for a mock Reader's Digest article.

Art directed by Mackenzie Bartels.

Photoshop.

days are numbered

The state of my thighs has been downgraded from excruciating to hurting with touches of pain.

Went to school and worked on my illustration. Watched this and that in the background while using the lasso tool and coloring it in. When I looked at it at print resolution, alot of the detail was lost so I will have to work on it like that a little bit. But I'm feeling good. And have to crank out the whole second one.

Then I have to hope Karen's Perceivers package arrives in time for the Symposium. She shipped it but you can't trust the Goose Hollow desk people. They don't care and I want to shout and scream at them because they are so lazy. My birthday present from Celia went uncatalogued and I was only informed of it a month later when they did an audit. Karen sent me something to give to Adam and UPS said it had arrived but I was not informed for a few days. Laaame.

The symposium. How exciting. Three long days sitting by myself behind a desk. Sucks because I won't be able to walk around as much. Still, it will be an experience. And staying behind the desk will keep me from spending money I don't have (yet, hopefully I'll make some decent change from my comic). Almost here. Keeping busy enough to not freak out about it.

Gabe made rice, black beans, and grilled chicken. Mmmm.

Cordia Harrington (work in progress)

Digital illustration of Cordia Harrington for a mock Reader's Digest article.

3"x3" when printed. Photoshop. Work in progress.

not the thigh master

My thighs feel like they have shin splints. Pain killers do next to nothing. They hurt so very very bad. All day they hurt.

In the morning they hurt when I made my oatmeal. They hurt on the ride to school. Thankfully it is mostly all downhill so I didn't have to work them so hard. Hurt while shuffling around school because the room was relocated. Met Robin's dad.

We three, Daniela, Robin, and I, we critiqued our two works. Generally favorable but they still needed work. Hobbled around with my hurt legs. Went downstairs to work on the project. We were given source material like print outs and flash cards and we had to use elements from each and combine them into a piece. Robin did a little scene of an old man with people on his shoulder. I did a large man thinking with trees growing out of his head and powerlines in the background. I did it with tempera paint and used big gloppy strokes. My thighs didn't hurt when I was seated but damn they ached when I got up. Ooof.

Ran into Travis. We chatted a little bit. For lunch Robin and I went to Laughing Planet. I was delighted that the Mr Green Jeans burrito special was back. Edamame, sweet corn, black beans, tasty cheese. Very good. Love that thing. And it was on the express ready made tray so no waiting. I wish it was a part of the permanent menu. Anyway, we sat in the park and talked about money and stuff.

Spent another two and a half hours painting. Still hurt but like I said, mostly only when I stand and try to walk. Robin and I tried to take the street car back but we just minute. We opted to walk back. It hurt but the slow pace was good. My normal bike route might have done me in.

I'm keeping to my chair mostly. Trying to relax. Gabe made Laarb for dinner. MMmm.

Still hurts. I am going to redo the second illustration. They are due Saturday but as the symposium is this weekend, I will get both of them finished in the next couple days.

I also redid my nail polish

Set the alarm and got up all ready to go. I had to get my rough illustrations in by 2 so off to school I went. Scanned them in. Talked to Matt. The went to the lab to bring them into photoshop. Said hi to Katie. And photoshopped them. Still need some work. At around 1:50 I left to go to Tender Loving Empire. Needed to buy some cards as I looked at my calendar and there are many July birthdays. Picked out a few cards.

Went down to school again to do some Googling. Went to Oblation and picked up another card and bought some stamps (didn't feel like going to the Post Office when all I needed was four).

Shaking with hunger I went to Cha Cha Cha. Pollo burrito and a fruit punch Jarrito. Mmmm. It was past the lunch rush so my food came quick and I ate it all. Scarfed at first and then slowed and finished it. Read Promethea.

Very warm. A dry heat. Heard that at the most it got up to 92. I believe it.

At a four way stop, everyone actually went in the order that they arrived. It was amazing. Portland drivers pretty much always do the polite You Go, No You Go, No You Go, Okay I'll go oh whoops you were going at the same time so you go, no you go thing. It is really annoying and takes longer than if one person had the guts to just go. Course if the person that goes first is on a bike then all the drivers get mad. I was the third at the stop and the third to go and it all went smoothly.

The new computer lab in the library is awesome. Shiny new macs. Not those iMac things that I used in 9th grade video class. The keyboards don't have the number pad and are really really tiny. I fumbled a lot using them.

I got too cold under the A/C so I went into the main body of the library and ended up taking a nap.

Yoga! Yoga was luckily just in the shade enough. Every breeze was warm but it wasn't too sweaty. There were two new dudes there as well as Ruth and Serenity. Today was did moon salutations in honor of the moon landing anniversary. When we were doing seated forward folds with our legs spread, Ruth was able to get her face on the ground. Made it look so easy.

Got home just as Gabe was finishing dinner. Sadly I didn't have much of an appetite. Looked delicious. Mmm.

Tomorrow is the last day of the Illustration seminar. Booo. Oh well.

Editorial Roughs

The rough colors and sketches for the art direction assignment. Two illustrations for a story about Cordia Harrington. She owns a very successful burger bun business.

Art direction by Mackenzie Bartels.

5"x5" and 3"x3". Graphite sketch, photoshop color.

I don't know why the burger buns are blue and the factory is red in the first picture. Some quibble with Blogger.

art doer

Today did lots of art! Well did a couple things.

Finalized the sketches for the illustration art direction pieces. They both are a little minimal. Tomorrow I will scan them and tweak them in photoshop and work out some color schemes.

Did that. Also did the first of maybe two illustrations for the summer program thing. Some intense lighted self portrait. Broke out the brush box and my ink box. I dig it though I could have slowed down a little bit.

Had a very restless night sleep. I'll be off to bed in a jiffy here.

Dinner was pork with this breadcrumb smear and a salad and homemade cornbread. Mmmm.

some title Harry Potter related

Harry Potter Movie Party at Cherish's place! Cherish and Isaiah to be specific. It was a potluck and chips were already being brought. I asked Gabe what he could make real quick and he gave me an ingredient list. Salmon. Creme cheese. Shallot. Parsley. Avocado. It was combined together into this tower of cheesey spread that was destined for crackers.

I left at around 2:30, severely misunderstanding the distance away of Cherish's place. It was on Alder. Barely 4 minutes by bike. Locked up outside and was the first there. Just chilled with Cherish and chatted and helped and drank punch. I cut the pepperoni into little lightning bolt shapes.

No one else from school was there, but that was nice. No vegans. No drama. No vegan drama.

Bryce. Dominic. Casey. Christy. Uhhmm. Yeah I can't recall all the names. They came and went. I was there the longest.

The mini pizzas, juice, snap peas, and pigs in a blanket were gobbled up first. I let my cheese tower refrigerate. A later snack. The food was plenty and I certainly gorged.

It is really staggering the difference between the Chris Columbus Harry Potter movies and the Alfonso Cuaron & Mike Newell ones. Columbus had no flare for the imagination that the Harry Potter series needed. Bah. Anyway, we watched the first four movies. There was a lot of effort in getting the fourth so I stuck around for it. Cherish didn't have it so some other people rented it and all that. It was fun. it went super later but it was fun. Half the people there hadn't picked up any of the books.

Now I want to reread them. Methinks I will check them out from my local library. Tomorrow I have mega illustrating to do. Productivity! Possibly!

moon pie

Forced myself out of bed at 10. Gabe me a little stirfy for breakfast/lunch. Yes I eat vegetables if Gabe cooks them.

At 1 I left for school to scan and edit my concept thumbnails. Threw in some color in photoshop. Emailed them off.

Zip zoom I left to meet J for a movie. 2:30 showing of Moon starring Sam Rockwell. I've asked about three people and none of them were interested in seeing it. J was totally psyched for it. That is why she is my movie buddy. My cinema employed movie buddy who gets me free tickets. The A/C was cool and we had good seats. There were a couple ridiculous squeaky chairs.

I really enjoyed Moon. It is about a man mining the dark side of the moon for Helium 3, the space age energy source. He is one man on a station and when he gets hurt, he is saved by his clone because he is also a clone. That isn't a spoiler for the movie because the whole clone thing comes in early on. Anyway, it seemed to have constructed model sets for the moon scenes and the sets for the station seemed very clear. It had good production values without showing off. The story did keep me interested. Pretty dynamic for only really having one actor through the whole thing (and Kevin Spacey who plays the seemingly-at-first Hal-esque computer GERTY).

Afterwards we were hot to trot to Baskin Robbins. Crossing over Yamhill, or Morrison whichever is heading West, J whispered, "Is that Christian Siriano?" I looked to look and confirmed, "Oh my God it really is!" I whipped out my phone and texted Terry, "Christian Soriano in Pioneer Square!" Later I found out that Terry was not a fan.

I got peppermint flavor this time. J and I walked up to the Park Blocks and sat on the bench and talked about boys and girls and internships and all that. It was a nice little visit and getting to know her a little better. Soon she had to go to work. We parted ways.

It was warm. Hot. Hot hot hot with heat. I've just been cowering in my room with the fan. I tried on my new second hand shorts and bent to pick up Luna and I hear RRRRRRRRRrrrriiip. Dang!

I accept this

Worked on the sketches today. Came up, finally, with a slightly more than passable idea for the second one. Tomorrow I will scan and lightly color them in and send them off for review. Exciting!

Went over to Jason's for dinner and a movie. We rented The Hudsucker Proxy. Very delightful and often overlooked Coen brothers movie. It's about the invention of the hula hoop (you know, for kids). Highly recommended for everyone. Dinner was pizza. Toppings assembled on premade crust.

Got home to an email from mom saying she wants me to get a job. Maybe I've been bad about looking for a job because I'm not doing so well after having the majority of my summer plans fall through. Maybe that doesn't do too well on a persons esteem and drive. It's been tricky. I kinda hoped for an internship that would get me somewhere but well, that fell through. I know I'm a good worker. I know I am capable of showing up. Yes, I have wasted a considerable amount of time watching Buffy and Angel and Dead Like Me and Mad Men and all that. Yes I haven't been as productive as I could be capable of. It's been...

Sketchbook Upload III

Life drawing from my tiny sketchbook. Josh. Janessa. Daniel Wellington Camel Williams.

Marker on flimsy paper.

I am Snape the potions master

Went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. 3pm showing. I haven't read the book in so long. If anything was missing, I can't recall. It was good. Nice visuals. I didn't really feel a punch or a terror from it. It had some good humour but it lacked...I don't know. Something. Maybe what all the Harry Potter movies lacked: length. They seem to fall short by being short.

Anyway. Watched Mad Men. Worked on thumbnails and rough sketches for the magazine project. I have one idea pretty clear, the other one not so much. Trying to think about how to represent the growth of a certain burger bun business and all that. Hmmm.

Movie and sketching. Not much went down really. Have some evening plans tomorrow with Jason. Then maybe another Flicks on the Bricks. Then a Harry Potter movie party at Cherish's. I should reread those books one of these days. It has been years. Half Blood Prince came out when I was in Japan.

seen but not heard

Illustration Special Class Thing:
The critique for the composition was quick. Only Rachel and I had pieces to show. Passed by Robin on my way to school. We had a value slide show and discussion. I was spacing in and out. Woke up with a stomach ache. I managed to bring a feeble lunch to school with me. Robin and I sat in Jamison Square Park and chatted. Made a stop at the library for more volumes of Promethea and a Euan Uglow art book.

After lunch we went out and drew the lighting on eggs. We first drew the egg indoors and then in three different spots outdoors. First I drew with it on a stairwell. The wind kept moving it. BT stopped and chatted a little bit. Next I propped it upright in some dirt. Then Rachel and I sat in the park and talked about comics and all that. Afterwards we were given our assignment. It is a black and white picture with an emphasis on value. Supposed to represent something we want to share or hide about ourselves. Don't know what I'll do.

Mackenzie:
I was picked to do the illustrations for one of the magazine design class students. Mackenzie wants me to do two spot illustrations for an article about this lady who owns this big bun company.

Dinner:
Had to make it myself.

Dave Chappelle:
Gabe said that he heard that Dave Chappelle was going to do a free Midnight show in Pioneer Courthouse Square tonight. I thought, "why not?" and went. I got there at 11:40 and it was packed. Thousands of people. Crammed and climbing over everything. They were on top of Starbucks tables and chairs and then the Starbucks guy came and yelled and removed the tables and chairs. People climbed on top of the glass roof. Some dangerous stunts. I was behind a pillar. At around 12:30 enough people had left frustrated so I got to squeeze in to a good spot on the stairs. The audience moved and shook the Noon Tunes set up. There was almost a riot! And by riot I mean some people were getting cross and some may have even written a letter. Portlanders are not a vicious bunch. 12:45 rolled around. then 1am came and so did Chappelle. The thinning crowd surged back to the stage and everyone was ecstatic. And then he brought out a tiny amp. Still no sound. I moved into the flow and tried to get close enough to the stage. No luck and with no replacement speaker system on its way, I decided to leave. As I left I noticed one of the people on the roof of Starbucks was down to her underwear. I started to walk away and heard more cheering as she took her bra off. Portland is OK with toplessness. Heh.

I came.
I saw.
I can say I saw.
Can't say I heard.

tiger! tiger!

Finished Angel season two this morning. It is time to take a break from the Buffyverse. Now I expect every show that I watch to have a vampire or something in it. Even Mad Men.

No fancy breakfast for me. Just cereal and tea.

At 1:45 I slung my yoga mat over my back, stuffed a bag with goodies, and rode off to meet Lindsay for lunch! I haven't seen he in so long. She is looking great. She bought some shoes like the brown Sketchers that I have. She bought them because her motto for clothes collection these days is, "what did I borrow from Trillian?" Heh. We walked down to Sushi Land. I keep going their even though I don't like their selection. It is just easy I guess. We got a spot on the bar, not a booth. We caught up about our going ons. She is still doing light shows and live painting and Ibanez has gained some heft. Go Ibanez!

After eating a reasonable amount of sushi, we wandered over to Art Media. I chatted up Michaela a little bit. That was the end of the visit as Lindsay had to meet up with Kurt to do some joint painting.

It was a wonderful visit. I hope for many more.

Oh! She also returned my copy of Invisible Monsters. I thought Cece had "borrowed" it indefinitely. My bad.

Being only 10 blocks from home, I rode back. I had also left my stretchy yoga pants behind.

I loitered for a little bit and headed out once again on bike. Jason was walking to Sandeep's along 13th. Passed him on my bike and stopped to say hello. Didn't stop in traffic of course.

Yoga was outside but chilly. Some of the poses did warm up my body and by the end, the breeze was nice. No hawk during this session. Just a toddler trying to join us. My left thigh is still giving me trouble. I'm getting better at finding a solid foundation for some of the lunges. Fawn started the class with some singing. The chant of the song was supposed to be the theme but in the end "tiger" was the more dominant focus of the day. Our clothes, our attitudes. Raaawrr!

On the way back I passed Amanda and Andy. I dinged my bell in their general direction.

Gabe made tacos but they were way too spicy and I cried. Watched a computer centric episode of The X Files. A computer is the fastest way to date anything made in the last couple decades. They do not hold up well. Heh.

Now time to finish my Illustration assignment. Not much left. Just a little bit.

I still say I have dignity

Wahhoo! I drew! Worked on the informal assignment for the summer Illustration doothingy. Drew and shaded the glasses, pen, and ring portion of it. With shadows. I made the mistake of shading on the right side. When I moved left it smudged. Elementary mistake.

Anyone else notice how cool a word 'elementary' is? Elementary. Of the elements. The pure basic form of something. Anyway, I think it is neat.

Gabe and I were trying to decide who had more dignity. Me, who watched the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie or Him, who watched the recent Dragonball live action movie. I said it was me because I watched that movie when I was a kid and that show was awesome and it is cool, if cheesy. Gabe just watched a recent live action adaptation of something that ended well over a decade ago. Katie said we both had no dignity.

But yeah, I drew something. It isn't finished but I still feel pretty good about actually doing SOMETHING.

Tomorrow I am going to meet Lindsay aka Toon aka my first roommate for lunch! Yay! Haven't seen her in forever. Then Yoga time!

waaasteeee, what a

Oh man. What a waste of a day. This is horrible. I need to assign myself more things to go out and do. I did draw a couple things. Tidy up a little bit. Sorted out a pile for the Symposium. But uhh yeah I just sat about. It is sooo easy to do that these days. Bad. Bad Trillian.

My teeth hurt. I've been eating too many sweets. It always gets balanced by something Gabe cooks though. Tonight was pasta stew with meatballs (the last of my Ikea bag of them). Mmm.

I was sitting down to draw and then discovered I couldn't think of anything. Just scribble a few things that were not at all inspired.

Skipped ahead and watched the Smile Time episode of Angel. He got turned into a puppet through some magic. It was awesome. Ben Edlund did the episode.

Adam stopped by a little bit in the evening and we sipped cheap champagne from really nice estate sale glasses. That's how we roll.

Ruttered

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.