eye of the tiger

I plungered a toilet in the studios today. It wasn't really stopped up for long so it wasn't totally disgusting. Sort of an average day of work, a little dustier and dirtier than normal, but it didn't take me long to get in the swing of things. And I finished most of one of my new "textbooks" during the downtime after I completed my tasks but still was hanging around.

My Illuminating Manuscripts class, which was the shortened title, is nothing about actual Illuminated Manuscripts. In fact the full title is: Illuminating Manuscripts: Comics, Strips & Graphic Novels. It is a class in which I buy and read comics and talk about comics. Huzzah! Booyah! And it is 300 level and there are some cool comic people that I know of in the class. The teacher seems really cool and the selected readings are pretty cool. A couple anthologies, Understanding Comics (of course), a work published by a PNCA grad, Persepolis and the very awesome From Hell. I am really excited for the class. We will also be doing a comic of our own in the end. Very cool.

As Trevor, the teacher, was sick we were let out early. I went to Powell's to get the books that would be mass printed and probably cheaper as it would have used copies. I picked up Understanding Comics and Sexy Chix(a female anthology which I read today). Also I picked up a paperback I have always been meaning to read and at the price of laundry, I went for it.

Went home and ordered From Hell used (very expensive tome) and the PNCA one I ordered direct from the source. I emailed Jason at Floating World Comics and put in an order for the remaining ones. Have to support my guy.

Sexy Chix had some great shorts but some of them just seemed caught up in girly novelties. As if being a lady you HAVE to make lady stories and you can't just write a story. I will probably form better opinions about lady writers as the class goes on. I look at my bookshelf of comics and out of all the Western ones, and out of 25-30 writers(not including the Flight anthologies where surely there are more ladies) the only females are Becky Cloonan and June Kim. I haven't even read June Kim's one. Is it bad that I have so many male written comics? Am I required to support my gender or can I just enjoy a story?

Anyway, after work was time for relaxing and then Karen, Robin, Chelsea, Kristen, and I went to see Persepolis. Today is the first day it was out. We got there about half an hour early and it was good that we did. It didn't really sell out but it was super full. I must say I loved the movie. I was taken in and moved and I even cried a little. It was simply beautiful and it really did convey the comic well while still leaving parts out. The comic is a must read if you decide to see this movie and I think everyone should see this movie.



Rose Bond mentioned if a movie bores her, she notices the cigarette burns. Ever since she said that I have seen the cigarette burns in the film and the shake as the movie transitions to the new roll. Only No Country For Old Men and Persepolis have brought me so in that I did not see them.

After the movie we hung out at Karen's. Robin made fried bananas and we played Apples to Apples. Chatting went long. Like till 3:15 am long. Sleeping in time.

I know how Art History is and looking at my schedule I am sure I can do this semester no problem. I have three art classes that require work and two reading classes. One is mostly done in studio (Printmaking) and the Painting class seems along those lines. I have no idea what to expect from Experiments in Drawing.

a theory about free will (and probably not a good one)

Painting Techniques is off to a running start and that is grand. The class has one person too many and so Jason and I shared a desk (it worked out because he is left handed so we were not bumping elbows at all). We made little transition squares where we went from complimentary color to complimentary color with a gray in the middle. It took me the better part of class to get it to work but I didn't feel really rushed. After we finished we were to do a still life where we mixed colors to get it on the first try as opposed to layering. The skin color for the doll turned out nice but after the collar, it fell apart. It looks to be a fun class, fast paced and lots of work and getting use of the materials I pay so dearly for. Jason and I whispered back and forth at our desk. The rest of the class was stone silent for whatever reason. Also the classroom had a heater WHICH YOU COULD TURN ON!! And get this: it worked. That is really rare at PNCA.

We had a little synopsis of our drawings in Experimental Drawing class. We just gave a brief rundown of which each one was and how we came up with it. There was no critique and no one laughed at me choosing Robert Downey Jr. for chaos. Boo. No critique followed. I think it was mostly because Modou didn't like the assignment that the other guy had given us (clearly not his assignment). Then we talked and talked. Talked about Art History, Art, and History. We introduced ourselves and we had trouble understanding some of what he said because of his accent. I feel sorry for the German exchange girls, they don't speak English that well and neither does Modou (well he speaks it, just with a thick thick accent). And next class we are going to his studio. Rock on. The classroom was freezing cold. I had all my layers on and still I was shivering.

Between classes I went home, ate some MORE gyoza, relaxed, watched the rest of Kill Bill vol. 2, read a little, and then scooted off early so I could buy still more art supplies. I had on leggings, pants, legwarmers, 3/4 length tee, tee, hoodie, pea coat, and a scarf...I was still cold. The only time I was warm enough was when I was in the class with the working heat.

I forgot yesterday was Michael's birthday. We Aquarius' have to stick together.

I finished Persepolis and have moved on to Epileptic by David B. It has a great style and lots of French theories about stuff. One of them was Raymond Abellio talking about free will. He (is quoted as having said in the book) said, "Our free will is circumscribed, it accounts for 1% of our deeds. Great political men or artists manage to achieve a higher percentage of free will." That bit got me thinking about free will and choice.

I define free will as choice but when you think what we have to choose from, our options are still limited and decided based on needs that come from situations beyond our control. We can choose what we eat, but we can't choose eating as a requirement. We have to consume something or we will die. And even then we have to choose based on what our body needs: protein, vegetables, etc. We are restricted based on the needs that just being human requires. I can pick out what I wear but unless the fabric and piece was made just for me, someone else picked the design and style and replicated it on mass. I can choose, but the selection, however massive it is, was already picked out so how much choice to I really have when there is still some limit? To have complete free will you have to reject everything that would be required. Having something required means there is something expected and mandatory about ones existence and then how much free will does a person have if they are born with all these things they have to do to maintain their human body. To reject everything you are required to do would mean you would die. Free will is compromised by just being human.

Or is just having a choice enough to be considered free will, even if what you pick from is predestined?

my apologies to Mr. Fry

Done with my 9 drawing conceptual experiments in drawing assignment before midnight. Booyah! We had to draw what our idea of 9 words was. Sorta like the final collage for 2D design but with only two days to do it and 7 more things to do. Here is what I did:

Strong: a picture of Dad's hands because hes an awesome dude who is very strong in many ways.
Bright: a portrait of Stephen Fry
Elegant: a fashionable lady with pearls
Subtle: drawn words that read "everybody makes misteaks"
Chaotic: Robert Downey Jr. in ink that I've blow to make it run all over the place
Smart: some contour drawings of eye glasses
Beautiful: an assortment of colors because color is beautiful
Formal: a stencil outline of a man in a suit (taken from a photo of Peter Sarsgaard)
Expressive: just some crazy ink lines

So yeah, it is sort of obvious stuff right now but my mind isn't warmed up enough to say "this dot here shows the intelligence that makes up smart". I am most happy with the Robert Downey Jr. picture.

Fun and filled day. Got out of bed perfectly okay but I did not enjoy the lukewarm shower (probably the water is chilled from the subfreezing temperatures). Bike ride there wasn't so bad but the elevator halfway up the hill is broken so that first morning climb up is horrid.

I only have Printmaking: Intaglio & Lithograph on Wednesday, it also runs from 11:00-5:00 (with lunch). Class started a little late as we were waiting for people to show up. Yoshi, the teacher, chatted with us a bit and I talked with Rachel (who was in my digital tools class). I showed off my switchblade comb. And then we got down to it. He went over the syllabus and talked about objectives. We breaked for lunch early (but still it was only an hour). I sat with Karen and...tall dude who I met in the comic club's last meeting..uhh Matt maybe. Oh and a nice lady who is in my painting class, she was there as well. I shared my banana bread with said dude and we talked about stuff and comics. Before I had gone to pick up a package mom had addressed to the school AGAIN. The package was filled with awesome art goodies which were oooooed and aaaahhed over during lunch. And as it was the last of my gifts, that means it is time to make thank you cards!

Class restarted on the dot and he explained how to make and prepare plates. We cut up a couple 6"x9" plates and got to work buffing and smoothing and removing the scratches from them. That process, which still isn't really finished for most of us, took us the rest of class. I will just have to work around it. I think I will really like this class. We are allowed to pick whatever we want for our images that we print so I will finally be able to produce real work in my classes.

After class it was getting dark but I had errands to run. Swung by and bought some brushes, watercolor paper, and etching tool and some sketchbooks from Art Media. My eyes bugged when it rung up as $81 and they were kind enough to let me void the transaction and trade the brushes for ones that DIDN'T cost $30. The $40 supply run then seemed cheap. Bah.

Swung by Safeway and got some soap and sandwich bags and then went home. It was now fully dark. Relaxed when I arrived home, made the Internet rounds and ate dinner with Lindsay at our table (something we have never done before). After dinner she put on a shuffle of her music library and we got to drawing our homework. About four hours of fun and drawing later we were done. Whooo!!

Awesome second day, I must say.

exciting/exciting/bummer

Had my first day as a Sophomore. First day after turning 20. And Heath Ledger is dead. I can't believe he is dead...it doesn't seem that long ago I was watching him for the first time in 10 Things I Hate About You. Blimey.

I woke up at 5am and for whatever reason I thought it was 5pm and I got out bed ready to start my day. Then I figured out what was up and promptly went back to bed.

Regular morning. Made myself a peanut butter sandwich and rode my bike to school. CRAZY COLD. Saw some people I knew and some people that looked lost.

Modou, my drawing teacher, had some flight delays so he wasn't there to instruct us the first day. A sub of sorts handed out an assignment and then at 8:15 we were off. I bought some supplies at Office Max and hung with Lindsay and Karen for a bit before eventually riding home again. Kicked up my feet and watch Late Night with Conan O'Brien online. I was browsing a forum when a thread popped up announcing the death of Heath Ledger. Just...how?

Ate some more gyoza for lunch and headed off a little before 3:00 for my painting technique class. The class was full up with some familiar and new faces. Karen is in my class, as is Jason, a Junior who transferred from CCAC. The teacher switched from Cleaveland to Annie something. She seems nice, even if she doesn't enunciate. It seems to be a fast paced course so that is good. It lasted twice as long as the drawing class and afterwards I picked up some things from the library and headed back to Goose Hollow again.

About six miles I rode today, and it will probably be a regular Tuesday/Thursday distance amount.

I worked a little on my assignment for Experiments in Drawing but I am really tired so I think I am going to curl up with a book and go to sleep early tonight. Watched a little Kill Bill vol. 2 earlier on. Yeah, I like the first better but this does have some fun moments.

I wore longjohns under my jeans, my new waffle knit shirt under a tee shirt under a hoodie under a peacoat. And even with my awesome mobius scarf, I was still cold. BLIMEY!!

new years resolutions: 2008

(A little late for this but I have now decided what I want to achieve this year in which I am starting my Twenties)

1.) Read more. I want literature back in my life.

2.) Accept myself and have friends that accept me.

plaid & orange

Went shopping with the girls today. The girls being Robin, Diana and Mollie. Very chilly. Cheek numbingly chilly. Blimey it was cold today. I don't think it broke 40, and if it did it didn't feel like it.

We met Diana at the library and grabbed some warm eats. Then the shopping bonanza began! Gap had an awesome sale rack, it was affordable and had an extra 20% mark down. I bought a flannel frilly button up and an orange waffle-knit undershirt. The total: $15. Awesome! J. Crew and Fossil just had overpriced and ridiculous stuff so we left. We stopped in at Ray's Ragtime but it was just funky old time stuff. Mollie left us then and went to the library and we continued on to Buffalo Exchange. I saw some nice colored things but when I tried them on they were overly lowcut or sort of see-through due to cheap fabric. Diana found a fab plaid shirt-dress that looks great on me and was a very reasonable $13. We hung around in Anthropolgoie for a while. It had a great amount of really cute clothes that were sadly way out of our range, unlike J. Crew and Fossil which are out of our range and don't really look good either (well J. Crew did have a great pair of skinny leg canary yellow jeans).

We braved the cold and Diana and I got something to eat and we shared a little with Robin. Next was loitering in the Pearl Room at Powell's. There was a book of vintage mugshots that I really loved; such variety and intrigue! Eventually we parted ways with Diana and briskly made our way back to Goose Hollow.

I dropped off my stuff, changed into my shirt dress, and went down one floor to Robin's and we hung out making stuff. The most productive I have been all vacation and it is the final day. We lost our steam when it came to making things and we watching The Red Violin with Kristin and her boyfriend (actually fiancee now). I only remember one part of the movie, and that part wasn't the beautiful shots it contained. Some great little bits of time changing and sets. Beautiful film. All I remember when I first saw it was how the Red Violin was made.

My last day and night of vacation. Tomorrow my second semester of my first year begins at PNCA. My first semester as an Illustration major and my first semester as a sophomore.

force feeding the sugar

As it is midnight, I have officially become 20. Go me.

Woke up early to get everything cleaned and tidied up. Felt like I had a wee bit of a late start but in the end no one showed up till around 4:00 so it all worked out just fine. Watched a couple episodes of Twin Peaks.

Mel came over first and we sat and ate chips and discussed nerdy things. Robin came not too long after and then things really got cooking! Sort of. Diana walked all the way over from Burnside. Robin brought up her iPod dock and we started listening to some tunes while snacking and chatting. The Jones soda was a moderate hit. Very sweet. In need of some real food, I cooked up some Gyoza. It was quite delicious and Chelsea showed up as we were finishing the first batch so I made another. Both went quickly.

We played Apples to Apples. At first we played till 8 green cards and then Mel got 7 so we upped it to 10, Mel still won. During the middle of the game, I whipped out the brain mold Jello.

The mold itself was a larger hit than the actual stuff which was really really thick. I might try it with less Jello...the thickness is very icky. I didn't tell anyone it was brain shaped so it was a big surprise. They got a kick out of it.

After Jello and Apples to Apples we played a few rounds of Old Maid. The rotation got a little confusing at times but fun was had. Things dissolved into chatter and munching on food. Ibanez was also much adored by all the ladies present. We winded down with Two Truths and a Lie. Everyone emptied out at around 9:00pm. But then about 20 minutes later Mel, Robin, and Chelsea came back. Haha. We watched some Conan and tried to do some dance moves and we talked about what the next fashion trend would be. My vote is on bright solid colors mixed together. It combines the layering trend as well as sort of hipster and mod. I'm all for color. Robin made us tea and during my company break I cleaned up a little.

But all good things must come to pass and they left. But all in all it was a wonderful Birthday. The perfect amount of people and great company they were. A good long shindig with lots of treats and talks. Not so much a Birthday party but just using it as an excuse to gather. It was wonderful. My 20th is starting on a great note. Whooo!!!



Fun Party Tip: When serving cupcakes, don't ice them. Have a couple kinds of icing and many types of sprinkles out and let your guests decorate it how they wish! Much fun will be had.

cops

Last night while I was trying to sleep, the boys in 410 were having a party. At around 3:30ish there was an exceedling loud drunk guy yelling and shouting and stomping about. They are normally loud but this guy was just excessive and sort of scary...I didn't want to go up there.

Thankfully, not too long after I heard a cop car. I could see the lights from my window. The people up stairs got really quiet and there was one loud, authoritative voice I could almost make out. A little while later it was just one guy stomping around upstairs.

Hurray.

blood sugar

So I made the Jello and I had some left over. It was 12oz of Jello powder mixed with about three cups of water and a can of condensed milk. I had some left over so I decided to drink it. It was sooo thick. Like...I could feel the sugar slide down my throat. It would have made great mock fake blood. Uhhg disgusting.

I had a late start today. Just could not get out of bed, I was so comfy and relaxed and warm. But it didn't really affect my cooking schedule. Made a run for groceries and made banana bread. Mel came home so I visited with her a little bit while the bread baked. Then as I made cupcakes I prepared the gyoza. I have about 35-50 ready for the party tomorrow. I packaged and froze the remaining filling and made a batch to eat for dinner. In the past 24 hours, I must have eaten about 50 gyoza. Blimey. Fixed up the Jello and then made a late night second run for drinks. Jones Soda in a can! WHoo. From about 4:00-10:00 was spent in various stages of shopping and preparing.

At about 10:45, Lindsay and I walked around our apartment banging the ceiling with sticks.

Got caught up watching Lasagna Cat and Twin Peaks. Uhg, I am SO SICK OF JAMES!! And what, what is Billy Zane doing in the show? Huh.

Party party party tomorrow. Then the next day, I am 20.

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.