Shrimpfest 2X15

My body hurts. I did a bunch of walking today and I'm tired. Whewww! But uhh Friday:

Friday:

A really, wholly do nothing day. I had eggs and bacon and toast with jam. I had coffee. I watered the plants a bit. I watched TV. I lounged a bit. Read an essay on Tinder. Tindr. That app. It was a really good essay, Chris linked me it. Then I climbed back into my warm cocoon. Oh, I did some laundry too.

Saturday:

Set my alarm so that I wouldn't sleep through half of Shrimpfest. Got up, had some fluids and coffee and crumpet with jam. Got dressed in the clothes that I would wear in a cartoon: black jeans, Palladiums, black hoodie, graphic tee, leather jacket. The graphic tee was the Anadrill one. Representing at Shrimpfest!! I did my makeup in the purple & gray style. Looked like this:

I try to look distinct.

I opted to walk to Shrimpfest because exercise is good and I figured I'd have a few beers and I didn't want to pay for parking (though now I know that parking is free, still the second point stands). I grabbed my umbrella (white for best visibility) and strode out. The initial hill was tricky and my ankle was feeling jammed (like it was a year and a bit ago at the end of my time in Santa Cruz, I should get it checked out by a doctor) but as I started going down the hill it loosened up and started feeling much better. It was raining, but not intensely so. Still my shoes got a bit damp (I need proper walking rain boots). There was a decent line at Shrimpfest and I joined the credit card line and paid my way in. Struck up a conversation with this guy Larry in line, I would run into him a couple times over the fest. Nice fella, and his son was named Nathan.

I hit up an ATM once inside and bought some shrimp beads to represent. There was a band playing some cover songs, and they were fun. I got a garlic dog with onions (ordered it right after Larry & Nathan) and consumed it under a mounted umbrella. Very delicious and warm and filling. I did a circuit of the vendor booths. I filled out a form at the Habitat for Humanity booth, smelled soaps, looked at sand blasted glass mugs, and bought a whoopie pie for first dessert. Yummy! At this point I entered the beer garden and grabbed a beer and a seat and got to something sketching and much needed sitting. I can only be on my feet for so long. Larry joined me for a second and I sketched him and he told me "I'm made of old leather" as a way to discourage me from drawing him. His son also studies art as it turns out, and we chatted briefly across the Beer Garden barrier about brush pens.

Had a second brewski and drew more by myself. I walked around a bit more. Wished there was some cotton candy. I like cotton candy. There was popcorn but ehhh I don't want popcorn all the time. Bought a little nice smelling soap and a doggy treat for Banjo. Penultimately I consumed a funnel cake with powdered sugar and maple on top. Last funnel cake I consumed was in Marietta (Mariette?), Pennsylvania with Rainbow at that stormed out Seven Bridges concert in the park.

Finished the whole cake and stuffed and tired, I dragged myself home. Woof that was an exhausting walk. Did not like the up hills, but eventually it was all downhill. The rain has stopped by then, and the clicker at the gate said 2000 people at visited! Good turn out. Tomorrow is the belt sander races, but I'm not returning.

Celia stopped by and we chatted. I went pajama mode the instant I got home. I'm stuck on a really hard level in Bubble Fins. Jooosshhhh help!!!

Oh and one of Rachel's friends is doing a Highway 101 bike trip, so I may do the kind host thing like so many people did for me a year ago.

Here are more photos:

it's on Soquel, so it is semi in the right direction for work...

Thinking about joining a gym again. I really want to be in better shape so that I can do my job better. And also getting in better shape while I'm young and it is easier to get in shape than when I'm old and it's...more difficult. Plus healthy, healthy, healthy! And a gym would put me in contact with people.

Hmm. I'd have to work out before work, and hopefully the energy would do me good.

Anyway. Ran the fronts on shirts, Cara/Karah/Kara helped me with a bigass banner. 15'x5'!!! So big. Way too big really, but I did it. And a smaller banner. And I cleaned stuff and chopped stickers. The banner was the doozy. Took a lot of effort, but before I knew it, the day was done!

I ran a little bookshop errand after work, though I didn't find the book I wanted, so I got a more contemporary crossword puzzle collection and a birthday card for Heather and Daniel (their birthdays are about a week apart, so I double dipped, haha).

Do you eat after a morning work out? Before? A little nibble to get your metabolism started?

Welp, I'm going to work on me crossword puzzle book.

way up high, two feet off the ground

Oh man, what a busy full exhausting day!

I got up at the magic impossible hour of 7:30am. Had a light breakfast. Showered. Got to the print lab at about 8:30. Got right to printing. Finished the Mel poster. I was three fourths of the way through the Beth poster when I was informed that there would be a Continuing Education class in the lab. BOOO. So I finished up the poster right quick and folded and editioned the two posters in the other lab. Robin was there as well. I was hoping to finish all four but it was for the best as I was starving.

It was one of those days that was both sunny and rainy. It came and went. Home from school it was sunny. I had some pasta. Home to the east side, it started to rain as I crossed Broadway. A thick mist of rain. The type that gets you damp all over, but you never really feel like you are being pelted. I am incapable of finding the Multnomah street turn off of Broadway. I've missed it about three times now, so I always overshoot and then have to get my way over towards Lloyd. It is weird to think that Lloyd is within a reasonable bikeable distance. Like 10 minutes off the bridge. I biked in a circle and eventually got onto 12th and rode that miserable, shoulder shaking, teeth chattering from the road construction road down to Burnside. I locked my bike up and spied Toon approaching. We exchanged an enthusiastic hug and got to catching up, but still had the same level of closeness like it hasn't been ages since our last hang out.

She invited me to a beginning drop in class for aerial gymnastic fitness stuff. You know, that stuff where there are large silk ribbons hanging and people climb up them and spin and stuff? Yeah. The class was her treat. I signed a lengthy health waiver and got my exercise clothes on. We did 30 minutes of stretches. Lots of leg work. I'm glad yoga has kept me spry. Still, this was a lot of core building stuff that...well I have no core. No arm strength, no abs. I have strong legs though, probably. Strong enough that I can bike a few miles and not have wobble leg.

Not being able to really lift my own body weight really hampered my learning, but I soldiered on. There were a couple ladies in their 40's who casually mentioned that they did parkour. It was about half and half beginners and experienced people. I didn't feel so self conscious about being bad. It takes a lot of strength and finesse. It is a lot of taking slack and wrapping feet around lengths of suspended silk and clamping. I would love to try it again, but only if I had arm strength. I did get the hip lock. And after lots of failure, I got the foot lock as well. There was this stuff that we sprayed on our hands to get a better grip on the silk as well.

The class totally...just wiped me out. And I was only really on the silk a third or forth of the time. I don't think I could take any more though. Needed the breaks. Much respect to the dancers who make it look so effortless.

Toon and I went to Fire on the Mountain for a celebratory wings lunch. We gabbed and caught up. I got on my bike and had only a slightly better time getting to Broadway. It is weird how I'm just now figuring out Portland on bike, after I've been here for nearly four years.

I decided to go to school and print instead of passing out at home. I was pretty exhausted but I got into the rhythm of it. Callouses are starting to form! I finished up Samala and Acey, but didn't have the energy to fold and edition them. I'll do that tomorrow. I finally went home and slumped into a chair and chilled and hydrated and enjoyed me some Advil. I watched this great documentary called Yank Tanks, about the lengths that people with go to in Cuba to keep cars from the 50's running. I also worked on my spirit animal for the spirit animal print exchange. Since I've been going full out on thesis printing, I think I'll just print the spirit animal and work on the text. Edition and fold, but no thesis printing. Thesis drawing, yes. Thesis reading, yes.

It feels good to accomplish something before noon. "Think of what you can get done if you didn't sleep so much, Trillian" my mind says. "zzzzzzzz" logic says.

Ma and Pa, I'll let you know when I get my Focus Week time slot. I requested early in the week though, so I can get it over with. But who knows.

Todays Portrait Is: Michael-Raymond James.