om nom nom (gyoza edition)

I made Gyoza tonight! Whoo! Llyw gave me a recipe and I thought it would be a good thing to make for my birthday. Spent a lot of time shopping at Fred Meyer, probably more than I should have. I was buying vegetables and I became aware of the fact that I wasn't really clear what certain vegetables look like. Namely green onions. I found them eventually, as with all the other ingredients. All in all, it didn't cost too much to get the supplies for a quadruple recipe that will last for hundreds and hundreds of gyoza. I'll probably run out of wrappers first...have to pick up some more tomorrow. Took me about an hour from boiling the cabbage first to frying up the initial batch. A long time sure, but the second batch took about fifteen minutes to make. The time consuming part is mixing the filling, and if you make tons of it then you are set for a week's worth of tasty gyoza. And let me tell you, they were TASTY! Fried up quick, came off hot and juicy. I'll have to make up tons of them tomorrow so they will be ready to fry up day of. Whoo!!

Today I rolled out of bed with the aid of my alarm clock. I have to get myself on a schedule again. I rolled out of bed and then made a nest for myself on the couch and started reading Persepolis. Before I knew it, I was over halfway done and it was 3:00pm. I had stuff to do! So I got cleaned up, wrote up my grocery list, and nabbed my paycheck to deposit. Easy enough to deposit it at key bank. I was planning to go to Trader Joe's for the gyoza fixings but Fred Meyers was right there.

Persepolis is fantastic. I wish I knew more of the history that went along with the story. Brilliant and poignant and very important in the terms of right now. Highly suggested for anyone who reads.

After the gyoza I watched some Twin Peaks. I am so sick of the James story line right now, every time it switches to him I wish I could fast forward but I have no idea if all this stuff will end up being important or not. Only a couple episodes left.

seriously

Felt a little ill at the start of the day but I think that was due to lack of food. Once I got a banana and sandwich in me I perked right up.

Mum woke me up with a call and not too long after her call, I got one from PNCA. Apparently they had a package for me. From mom.

I was already planning a trip to PNCA today and the package gave me another reason to go down. I severely miss-gauged how cold it was outside and even with three layers, a scarf and gloves, I was still freezing. Still a nice ride, what with the tires being inflated nicely. Mom had put my apartment number on the package, but the schools address instead. Still, they were nice about holding it for me and I chatted with Rachel Allen a wee bit. I picked up my paycheck and headed off to Big Finnegan's. There I bought an Apples to Apples expansion set. Love that game.

Once at home, I proceeded to waste another day of my vacation. But I am feeling better. It is a cross between a chill and spewing out the phlegm I acquired while being back at home. Watched Hard Candy. Yeah...that movie really sticks with you. Crazy intense and the two actors were brilliant, considering the quality of the film rested on how they interacted (as there was a grand total of five characters in the whole movie, the other three barely getting more than two minutes of screen time). The color of the film was just beautiful, it really made me uneasy with all the strong reds and blues. Amazing. Can't say it is for everyone but still...wow.

Also I am once again in the mood for Twin Peaks. Yay for Dale Cooper!

Had a serious talk with Lindsay tonight. About serious stuff. Hhmm.

who would want to rent a chicken?

Whee today was fun. Like I said, Michael was going to come over and he did. He showed up near to seven but he stuck around till 1:00 am so it was a good visit. We watched Mystery Men and he lent me a couple movies (I am lending him some Red Dwarf as well). I made fettuccine with Alfredo and shrimp sauce for dinner and it was almost as good as before. The shrimp were not perfectly fresh anymore. Not bad but...not great.

But yeah, we hung out and chatted. Nice to be in the position where hanging out with friends is easy to do. Don't have to travel an hour and a half to Seattle or brave the ice of Seabeck. Cities are awesome for friendships.

Before that I just cleaned up the place a little. Felt woozy in the morning. Stayed up late, slept in. Might start getting some work on projects done in the next couple days.

Oh, and my birthday. It is sort of coming together a little...maybe.

wibbly woobly woo

I got out and exercised today. Boy am I sore! Had a slow start but the day went pretty quick once I finally left the apartment.

Road down Couch to Floating World Comics. Jason wasn't in, that other guy who I remember from Stumptown Comics Fest was there instead. I picked up Persepolis (discount because I am awesome), The Boys and Doktor Sleepless. The most recent Boys story arc hasn't really interested me. Lots of tack, not a lot of butt kicking. I think the next one will have more. Oh and where is Daniel Robertson? He can't just...draw two pages and call it quits! Okay sure I know he is doing another comic now and still finds time to do covers for the Boys...but still! Wee Hughie doesn't look like Simon Pegg without him.

After the comic shop (I also ordered some sleeves and boards, can you believe it, I'm out!) I filled my tires up at the bike shop. Went from 20 whatevers to 50-60 whatevers. They were really deflated.

My legs were all wibbly after the ride and now they are sore. Need to get back into bike shape.

Karen stopped by and we talked for a bit. She is the new RA. She won't take no guff from no one!

Two days in a row I munch and munch all day long and I never seem to get full. The banana bread I made (see above photo, taken by my Pa) seems to have topped me off though.

Michael is coming over tomorrow.

teen countdown: one week left

Egads! I just looked at myself in the mirror and surprise surprise...I look twenty! Blimey. Only a week left to be a teenager. I should steal a car or something.

Lazy day spent inside. It was also raining so that wouldn't have been much enjoyment to go out in.

I watched Shoot Em' Up. Really enjoyable actually. Lots of gun fighting and one liners. Generic over-the-top action but executed really well and with lots of enthusiasm. Before that I watched a British documentary about Autism.

After all that I finished reading The Mourning Star volume one. I really should email Kaz...ehh. I will eventually.

Lindsay brought home some Cinnabon for breakfast. I horfed down my whole bun. It quite amazed her. She is so cool to feed me like that.

Also watched some Whose Line is it Anyway. Yay for Youtube.

sloooowing doooown

Dad caught his train outta here just fine. A little better than fine as we got to the station super early. He played Tetris while we waited and did quite well. Nice to have visitors in quaint Portland.

Slacked off for the rest of the day. I visited PNCA and pulled my comic from the wall and walked a little more than half the way home before catching the streetcar.

Munched on food and watched Dreamcatcher. Like the original novel, I lost interest in both at the same point but because the movie would have only taken me an hour to finish, while the book about 10...I finished the movie. Disappointing ending, well...the whole movie is sort of lame. They kill off likable characters once they have served their purpose and then introduce intolerable characters to finish off the movie. I guess I'm glad a few people survived but ultimately...meh.

Nice to relax and not be out and about.

walking in white

Today was spent on our feet. Dad put the second (back) fender on my bike, baked up some cinnamon twists, and away we were! We made our way to the bike shop first, for some bolts for my bike. The thing got a super tune up today. All it needs now is more air in its tires.

After the bike shop, we hopped on the max and rode it to the mall. We wandered, picked up some mixing bowls, picked up some shoes for me (WHITE HIGH TOPS!! YEAAH!!), batteries, measuring bowl, and we grabbed some lunch from a 50's diner place. Pretty nice trip out and about. Rode the max back and got off to look at the bike pumps at the store and bought some food stuffs for my birthday (more Jell-o and condensed milk).

We got home and lounged about. I put gel inserts into my new shoes and they feel great. I am so gellin'. We watched some dvd's and I made some of my prized banana bread. Now we are going out to see the late showing of I'm Not There at Fox Tower 10.

daddums in PDX

Dad is visiting this weekend. Very awesome thing that is. Haven't had a day off to kick up my feet and sit back since I returned. Busy busy busy, running around...seeing all sorts of people. It is great.

I received my grades in the mail yesterday. B+ in Art History (better than I expected), A in 2D (considerably better), A in Drawing (expected), A- in Digital Tools (not so happy with that but I guess my video project wasn't up to snuff), and a VERY amazing A+ in Time Arts. I didn't know they gave A+'s. Yeah. I'm awesome like that. Go me! So my GPA right now is 3.8. Very good! Sure I'm no mom with her 4.0's all across the board but 3.8 at fancy pantsy art school. Damned awesome thing that is.

Left at 2:00 to pick dad up at the train station. Got there a wee bit early and I read magazines until the lady in the shop came over and said "we have a sign", indicating the "no reading in shop" sign. So I left, I wasn't going to buy a magazine. They are meant for browsing, not seriously buying. Bleh. Dad's train was a wee bit late. He arrived safe and sound, having also seen Across The Universe on the train. He had headphones so he could enjoy it.

We took the Max home, stopping briefly at Pioneer Courthouse Square to pick up some delicious Cheesesteak Sandwiches. We nibbled on them at home and then we put on the front fender. Fits perfectly!

After the fender, it was decided to head to Powell's for some expenditures. We meandered our way there; checking out a few buildings and things on the way (like the bronze horse outside the museum). Powell's was moderately crowded but provided a good selection. We picked up some boating books, a music book, and a book book for me. Very awesome. The streetcar was arriving just as we got out. We swung by Safeway on the way home and did some grocery shopping for dinner.

Not being hungry right away, we made Jell-o in the Jell-o mold I got for my birthday (I opened it early). Spilled a great deal of Jell-o but it seems to have turned out fairly well. Tomorrow we shall remove it from its mold.

Dad and I finished watching the Futurama movie and moved on to Love Actually. In the middle of it we made dinner. Well I did the majority of it but dad certainly helped in the end. We had fettuccine Alfredo with little shrimp tossed in. I have enough for another two-person dinner.

Movie finished up, I tucked dad into bed and now it is time for me to sleep as well. We got a big day ahead of us. Starting with breakfast!

being out and about is awesome

Another day back home. Another day spent out and about. Another day spent with Michael. Another day well spent. Whoo!

Lazed about in the morning, watched a little Love Actually while my mind got in gear. Made a grocery run (bananas, juice, apples, bread etc.). After the grocery run I gave Michael a jingle and went to catch the Max. Transferred from the Max to buy a ticket and wait for a Yellow line to show up. There was a lady mumbling and some really "Seabeck" looking people on it (if you get my drift). Otherwise an effortless travel.

We just hung out at his (and Matt and Andy's) place and watched movies and TV. Watched 5th Element (awesome) and Galaxy Quest (also awesome, and this time I looked for the line they dubbed over to make it PG). Good movies. Watched my first episode of the insanely cheesy Supernatural as well (and I mean cheesy). It is nice to just hang about outside of Goose Hollow. There is a lot to be had else where.

Dad is visiting for the weekend so that is VERY cool. Hopefully he will cook me lots of delicious meals.

Oh and I got my rainpants in the mail today!! Thanks Celia! Looooove yooooou!! ♥♥♥

in demand lady

While I was away there were several people who inquired about my return to Portland. These people were Michael and Jim. I managed to fit in a visit with both of them yesterday.

Slept in and lazed about. Michael came over and we hung about while we decided which movie to go see. We settled on seeing Sweeny Todd and so away we went. He was unaware it was a musical and so I don't think he liked it as much. I think that it would have done well to have those little sing-along lines to go with the film. I think it would have been more fun that way. The gore was silly and the costumes were cool. An average Tim Burton flick. Afterwards we went to a coffee shop and sat about and chatted about our breaks and whatnot. We came back to my place and watched an episode of Red Dwarf.

At 9:00pm I sent him on his way and traded him for Jim, who ended up spending the night. Wouldn't have been very nice to visit for an hour and send him on his way. We nabbed some pizza before it closed and hung about and chatted. Also wouldn't have been very nice to ignore him while I wrote about my day. I just sent him on his way and oh dang I forgot to give both him and Michael some peanut brittle. Well, it's not going anywhere.

Anywhoo. No plans for today. I don't think Michael is getting up to anything so I think I'll shower, make a grocery run, and call him and see what's what.

wake, move, clean, sleep

I'm back in Portland, safe and sound. Lindsay was home when I got in and she gave me a full report on some of the stuff I had left behind. I was planning to clean up anyway; she just gave me the nudge. She also cleaned up the rest of the place while I was gone so my room looked even more terrible compared. But now it is all nice and neat! And should stay that way until we both start the new semester. Lindsay is in my Experiments in Drawing class so that will be fun. Need to go shopping for food tomorrow. We are very low on the good stuff. I have plenty of the sweet stuff (four bars of chocolate from Christmas) just need the healthy stuff.

Woke up this morning to more snow. It was mushy so getting out wasn't a problem. The roads improved eventually and Dad and I arrived in Tacoma with an hour to spare. As it turned out my train was delayed so what was one hour ended up being two. We saw Nathan and delivered him his tables and we grabbed some quick fast food eats. I wasn't feeling too well but that was probably the lack of sleep.

The train ride was...interesting. They played Across the Universe but I didn't have headphones so I couldn't hear the songs (which are the focal point of the movie). A woman also was writhing, talking and moaning to herself. She didn't seem to be in immediate peril so much as just having a few screws loose (and those screws had supported a whole load of scaffolding).

Arrived fine; my box lugged well enough to the cab waiting spot. Took a while for enough cabs to show up for everyone but one eventually did for me. The driver was very nice and helpful. Not the worst way to travel though I do prefer it when Michael gives me a lift.

The rest of the day was spent unpacking, cleaning, more unpacking, and catching up. I'm glad to be back here. Rain > snow.

double dose of long legs

Nicholas Cage double feature today; Lord of War and Gone in Sixty Seconds. Enjoyed Gone in Sixty Seconds more than I thought I would (honestly I just have it for Christopher Eccleston). My seat almost had me on the edge of it during the final car chase. Angelina Jolie and Timothy Olyphant could have been in more scenes but hey, you can't have everything. Lord of War was kind of what I expected it to be. I wasn't moved and didn't really have any sympathy for the lead. I wonder if that was how you were supposed to feel, that this was an evil person existing in the world. Hmmn. Almost watched Raising Arizona to make it a triple feature.

Still sick. All stuffed up and coughy. Was in front of the fire all day again. Someone has to keep it going.

My bag is packed and most of my miscellaneous items are assembled. I head out for Portland at 10:00am tomorrow. Probably should get up at 8:00am. Bleh. Oh well. The time to get on a better sleep schedule is now.

winter ills

I leave for Portland on Tuesday. My vacation home is almost over. Haven't started packing but that shouldn't take exceedingly long.

I'm not feeling well today. Been woozy and tired and sneezy since I crawled out of bed. So I just spent the day in front of the fire keeping warm. Cozied up with my new awesome mobius scarf.

Drew a little in my sketchbook and watched Flight of the Phoenix. Okay movie, better than I expected and Hugh Laurie was very awesome.

Don't think I need more rest, maybe just more warmth.

one side/infinate sides

Whooo!! Dorothy gave me a righteous and totally sweet mobius scarf. She knitted it herself! How cool is that?

So yeah, went to Seattle today. Hopped on the good ol' Bainbridge Ferry. Rainy and gray day but thankfully we were driving around so all was good. We went to Archie McPhee's to pick up some birthday stuff and other things. They don't really have a nice set up there; more of a place for people to get what they know they want as opposed to browsing. We went to an electric bike shop next, not for me but for mom and dad. They want fancy new bikes that do the work for them.

After a little bit of tiffage we went to get some fish & chips. After that it was a Danish bakery and then to Jeanette & co.'s.

Their house was very cute. Liam is definitely a young boy now. Exchanged some gifts (got the new Michael Chabon novel, sweeet!) and I showed off my drawing portfolio. Dan and Dorothy showed up and we went through my portfolio again. Really happy with the work that I did in that class. Have to do something nice with the choice pieces. It was a wonderful visit; seeing all the people. Ate some tasty cake and drank some tasty tea. We bid adieu and went to catch a ferry.

Listened to Jack Flanders and dozed off. Now I am watching Eastern Promises. It is okay thus far. Not really mom and dads thing but seems all right.

snow, ice, rain, wind and darkness

The power went out last night. It only was out for about forty-five minutes but for some reason my computer was unable to connect to the Internet when it returned.

Yesterday I left the house again (amazing! I know!). Dad and I went to the Verizon store to see about upgrading my phone but there wasn't a free upgrade. I don't need a fancy phone but even the less fancy phones were still pricey. Don't know why they don't have better deals but then again most people probably buy the fancy phones because they think they need them. Consumerism blah blah blah.

After Verizon we went to the mall to see about a haircut for dad. The wait was exceedingly long so we walked to Walden's and looked around their shelves a bit. After that we got some hot dogs from a new place in the mall and I proceeded to bite a chunk out of my cheek as well as the hot dog. Ouch.

We then met up with mom to go swimming and the Club. Well, we spent more time in the hot tub than in the pool. I am really out of swimming shape. Well, I haven't really broken out in a sweat since I arrived here. After that we went home.

Dad and I stretched some canvas across some frames that he built. I made some more peanut brittle and then we watched Wilde. As the name gives it away it is indeed a biopic about Oscar Wilde. Stephen Fry was quite awesome in the role, as was Jude Law. We haven't watched the last 15 minutes of the movie because that is when the power cut out.

it better be a stage name...

Stay up late.
Sleep in late.
Spend about ten hours lounging about watching TV and movies.
Go to bed.
Try to sleep.
Repeat.

I will be going home a little earlier than I originally thought. I don't think I can spend another week doing nothing up here. It is time to return to Portland.

Celia came over for a lovely visit. We ate some spaghetti and watched an episode of QI on youtube. Then we watched a few minutes of Nip/Tuck and then decided to watch some of Celia's Netflix movies.

First up was the Devil Wears Prada. Not really my type of movie and I only sort of payed attention to it out of the corner of my eye. Better than I expected it to be but still pretty much what I thought it would be. Some really cute outfits. As the credits went by Celia gasped and started saying my name. I looked up and she was pointing out that my name was RIGHT THERE in the credits!! Trillian! Head Seamstress! Blimey!

It wasn't all that late when we finished that one so we watched another movie. This choice was Gia, an HBO biopic with Angelina Jolie as the model who died from AIDS. Yeah. It was depressing. The actress who plays Juliet on Lost was in it and she was awesome. Jolie is talented at playing crazy people. She is also purdy.

Now to relax, sip some tea, watch Zoolander and eventually go to bed.

return by date

Had a nice sleep in today. Better enjoy it while I can. I'm returning to Portland in about a week (next Thursday I think).

Went to the movies with parents today. We say the new National Treasure movie. It was pretty much exactly like the first one just with a different goal and some more characters. Not really gripping-the-seat tense action but after you have seen No Country for Old Men nothing is really quite as nail biting. It was okay I guess.

We did some quick shopping and went home. Ate some steak, mashed potatoes and peas and chilled out for the night.

Tomorrow I will be hanging out with Auntie Celia. 18 days left in my vacation.

hang out (verb)

The last time I was in Seattle was for the MFA trip and that time I managed to see Llyw. This Seattle trip was no exception; minus the art museums.

Took a little effort to get my car out of the icy driveway but the main roads were peachy. Parked and payed at Bainbridge Island. Nine bucks for all day parking. NINE BUCKS! That is almost ten.

Read some of Mourning Star on the quick ride over and Llyw was there about a minute after I got off the ferry.

With no real plans we set out towards Uwajimaya. The walk took less time than I remember it taking (maybe he knew a quicker route). Didn't spend much time there; picked up some snackums and that was pretty much it. There were no movies to be seen so we just headed to his place to hang out. I brought along my external hard drive and put some various things from his computer onto it. Sweet thing to have.

While those things were loading we went out for lunch for some delicious fast food. I have never had Jack-In-The-Box before, and if I had it has been years and years. It was pretty tasty stuff. After lunch we settled down into watching DVD's via way of his awesome projector. The main selection for the rest of the day was Wonderfalls (with one episode of Spaced thrown in). Great show, I can see why it got cancelled as it was an hour long show before the slightly surreal hour long shows achieved the larger audience. It has notoriety now.

After we finished the first disc we sat about and talked and chatted and even conversed a little. Time flew by while the time to catch the bus downtown crept up on us.

I missed my bus to take me to the 9:00 ferry so Caleb gave me a lift to the dock to catch the 9:45 (Llyw tagged along on the ride).

Goodbyes and hugs were exchanged and I went up to the near deserted terminal, bought my ticket, and waited for the ferry to come in. Read a little more Mourning Star. The drive home went really well; the roads were hardly iced over and traffic was minimal. Even the driveway ice seems to be melting.

Super fun day. It is great to get out of the house and to see old friends. But now I am really feeling the want to return to Portland.

start with a tune and a delayed bang

2008 is upon us! Whoo! Two-oh-oh-eight. I will be Twenty. Out of my teens. Out of adolescence, childhood, and all that other stuff. I will be in my TWENTIES this year. YEE-HAW! And I will be starting my Illustration program at PNCA so that is awesome.

The fireworks at the Space Needle on TV might have been more impressive if they had synced up to the music instead of having "computer glitches" and not go off for minutes at a time. Still nice. We lit some crackers, bottle rockets and sparklers. We used up our good fireworks last Fourth of July.

I was trying to pull an all-nighter so that I could readjust my sleep schedule (I've been staying up past 2am and sleeping in till past noon) but at 6:30 am I fell asleep and woke up a little before 2. Oh well.

Went into town with the parents to do some shopping. I picked out my major (and most likely only) birthday present: a 320 GB external hard drive. Now my laptop won't be all full up! Before I had 7.25 GB free and now I have 57.7 free. Huzzah! My hard drive is a thing of beauty. At Best Buy I ran into Chris and we chatted briefly. Oh I also got some Pixi Stix. Yumm!

After some late lunch and grocery shopping we went home. I moved my computer files around and finished binding my book. It looks a little clumsy and shoddy but I am going to say that it makes it have "character". The paper I used for the cover turned out nice. Can't wait to see it tomorrow after it has finished drying in the press.

Going to Seattle tomorrow. Anti-hermit activities.

Happy New Year Everybody! Here is to another year of art, new friendships, scrubbed bathrooms, frustrations, and achievements.

how much worse could it get

I. hate. the. ice. Hate it hate it hate it. The snow has moved into that stage of never melting ice that coats the roads and makes it a real pain to drive through and on. Bugger! Made it back safely from Chris' but that was only a couple miles away; normally a 5 minute drive. It took me easily fifteen minutes to get home. Real slow driving and a wee bit dangerous. I felt less in control on the main road than on the iced over driveways.

Hung out with Chris today. He has been my friend for years and years. We always hang out when we get the chance. We sat about and surfed the net on our adjacent laptops. Talked at great length about school and people and whats going on (Cheryl Christy is engaged? what?). General catching up really. I miss having a friend about that I am totally comfortable with and don't have to worry about what they will think of me; someone I have that bond with. Portland is a fresh start but it is also a start from square one pretty much (with the exception of Sean who I knew before).

After watching some Wild Zero clips we decided to watch Tideland. That movie was horrible. Not a bad movie just really sad. Combining her imagination in the simple childlike way and not utilizing it as a coping mechanism it just amplified the sorrow. Horrible thing after horrible thing kept happening to the poor little girl (and her accent was all over the place). In the end we just wished she would die so she could be in a happier place. Damn you Terry Gilliam and your ability to make horror out of reality.

Left from Chris' very late but I think even if I had left earlier it would have still been a bother to drive and there might have been more people on the road.

Before I left for his place I halfway bound a book while watching Twin Peaks. Now that they have "solved" it and know what Bob "is", the story is going to get more intense and weird. Wooooah!