treasures in my teefers

For some reason I agreed to go to work early on Friday as well! What is wrong with me? We've got a lot of printing to do, and someone has to do it so it might as well be us. And starting early gets us out earlier, which is nice. My whole evening isn't eaten up. Not that I did much with tonight. Watched TV. Ate dinner. Erm. Yeah.

We ran a job that took a lot of set ups for different shirts. Very annoying. They could make it easier but they don't. Oh well.

Boss bought a coffee pot for the studio and a mirror. Not fond of seeing how frazzled and haggard I get by the end of the day, but hey at least I can tell how much stuff is in my teeth!

for every active morning, there is an equal and opposite inactive evening

There is road construction on Branciforte, so today and tomorrow it is impassable from 9am-4:30pm. Which sucks because I need to be on that road to get to work in a reasonable amount of time. So instead of driving the long way around (on 17) I got up 2 hours earlier and got to work at 8:45am.

It's amazing how accomplished I can feel when I get up early and do a bunch of stuff and look at the clock and its only 11am. I burned a bunch of screens. Caught a job. Burned more screens. We have one job that has all these different icon sizes and stuff. Lots of set ups/pallet changes. That was tackled in part near the end.

I ate those Ketchup Lays chips I got in the exchange/gift. They were very vinagar tasting, but did smell quite like ketchup.

Nearing the last chunk of chapters on Deathly Hallows. Have a few ideas for what I'll listen to next. Took me almost exactly the whole month to listen to all the audiobooks. I have a sense for what I'll listen to next.

I took it easy in the evening. Watched some TV.

Alana moved all the way out. :( I'm sad to see her vamoose like that. So now we either will get the two months notice...or won't and will have to find a NEW person.

Lame.

Got a AAA membership. Not the fanciest of ones, but maybe I'll upgrade. 5 miles of free towing isn't so useful if you might end up needing a tow on a Californian freeway. But the car seems in good order and I check the tire pressure regularly. The blue coolant symbol has been coming on a lot lately when I start up my car both at work and at home, but it goes away after 5 minutes of driving. Probably the incoming heat. Ah cars. I preferred my Portlander days when I didn't have to deal with them.

I looked into local art class/workshops, but the websites were terrible and the classes were expensive. I don't wanna pay that money on a gamble that it might suck/might not meet anyone to hang with.

goodies from across the border

Finished the drawing!! Might get some touches here and there, but for the most part I am DONE! WHOO! That took so much more work than I initially expected. Can't wait for y'all to see it!

Work:

I went to it. It was good. Printed. Burned. Coated. Sorted. We got some nicer tees in for one order. Well they seem nice, but they could also be scratchy because of the knits.

Before work:

Went to the post office to pick up this gift exchange I received. I've been doing these gift exchanges through this forum I'm a part of. This one was "hometown" themed, and I got a box of goodies from Toronto! Waaah! But I had to wait till after work to open it up.

After work:

Holy crap my exchange box was AWESOME!

Cool cardstock packing pyramids.

KETCHUP AND DILL PICKLE FLAVORED LAYS! I think I'll share some with Jeff tomorrow.

Kids in the Hall DVD set! WOAH! And a comic book...

And tea, chocolates, a mix CD, noodles, chips, ramune, a Scott Pilgrim poster. And they included a very nice letter detailing the gifts, and they left their email so I'm going to make an effort to turn them into a penpal. They had no reason to be so extravagant, they were just really nice and went for it. I sent off a Santa Cruz "hometown" gift to someone, but it wasn't the person who sent me this box. Sure Seabeck is more my hometown, but I'm a bit far away from there. But yeah, like, how great is this awesome haul! Canadians are so nice. I really should visit Toronto as it has so much stuff that is right up my alley. My friend Caroline just moved there. I should visit.

I like doing these gift exchanges. For one I went to that antiques market to find those steins. For another I painted that picture of Arya. It's a fun way to challenge myself to draw things or to see gifts out. And it just feels good to do nice things, you know? And I get goodies in return. This assortment was really needed too, because July has been tough.

Goodies and finished art. A good note to end the month on.

one day one, four to go till the next weekend

Ahhhh my eyes! Up late working, so close but I need to rest lest I mess everything up. It's looking REALLY GOOD I must say.

Work was rerunning two jobs. They both went pretty well. I burned some screens. I cleaned stuff. I...oh I forgot to go grocery shopping tonight. I'm out of fruit. Err. I'll do that tomorrow or something.

I also reclaimed a bunch of screens. Whooo! Keeping up with the need of mucho screens to be burned. Soon.

It wasn't really all that warm. It's been a bit cool in Santa Cruz lately, and it seems like it is really hot every where else. Ha. Non-coastal SUCKERS!

Didja like the gifts Ma?

making it look nice

Saturday:

Had a good little sleep in, and then I set about doing my laundry and cleaning my room. Alana moved more of her stuff out. I really want for us to say "landlord changed his mind, move back in!" Had some tea and an eggy breakfast. Did my makeup early on in the day because when it is the weekend and you are not getting all mussed up at work you can do your brows and eyeliner. It's fun.

Worked on the Odd Owl album art some more! It's really coming along. Should be done tomorrow night. Well the city portion should be done.

In the late afternoon Steve came down. We opted to head to the wharf for fish and chips, instead of working on our 99 bottles cards. It was a nice night for the walk. I put some pennies in the crushers on our way out to Stagnaro Brothers. We found a bench and ate our fish and chips while listening to the seals and seagulls. There was this grandpa trying to hoist his grandkid up to see the seals, and he (the grandpa) had a lit cigarette in his mouth. I was so afraid that he would burn the kid accidentally with it. Dessert was fudge from Marini's. The evenings entertainment was Welcome to Night Vale. Can't get enough of this awesome podcast, and now I've moved onto trying to get everyone else I know to listen to it.

Sunday:

The problem with making breakfast foods is that if you don't have milk you can't really make anything beyond scrambled eggs and toast. So Steve and I went to Buttery and got breakfasty sandwiches. And then breakfasty dessert of pecan bar and a bright pink Snowball made with home made marshmallow. Mmm that snowball was good. We walked down into a park and listened to the screams of the boardwalk. Those screams are really good at navigation throughout the downtown area.

There was a Wharf to Wharf run today, as evidenced by tons of people wearing Wharf to Wharf shirts and numbers. But since we didn't print those event shirts at work, I was unaware of this thing happening. Funny how that goes. Some things I only know about because we print them.

Steve headed back up north and I set to listening to audiobooks and working on the art. I made a good chunk of progress, I'm really stoked for how this is turning out! Should be an awesome album cover.

And now it is very late and another week begins. August is almost upon me. Woah.

"Accio Horcrux!" Yeah, nice try Harry.

A full day at work, hurrah! I cleaned the stuff, Jeff set up the job, we ran that job, I counted shirts, we got that set up, I burned some screens, listened to Harry Potter, cleaned a bajillion screens, reclaimed and coated a few screens. Nice full day to end the week on.

I've eaten too many gummy worms and now I don't feel so hot. 

Washed my work shirts.

Took it easy. Didn't do what I ought. I'm going to get some rest.

Happy Birthday Moooom! Didja have fun on the duck ride?

gummytastic

Started the day off by going to the post office and putting a package in the mail for Mom. Her birthday is tomorrow. Hopefully my gift will arrive soon. Yay Mom!

We started Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and it is narrated by Martin Freeman. Who just...his Zaphod is from New Yawk!! What the hell? It's just a really...not right voice for Zaphod. It doesn't fit like Douglas Adams or Stephen Fry's Zaphod. So we switched to Half Blood Prince. Stephen Fry is just great.

Boss gave me a 2.5 pound bag of gummy worms. I guess all my nagging about never getting perks from the candy store paid off! So many gummy worms. Hopefully they'll last through the weekend. If I finish the bag before the weekend is over...that is a lot of gummy worms.

We finished the job. It had to be partially boxed into tubs because parts of the job were going to different people, but then the rest was just boxed up. A good days work.

I burned some screens after that.

Worked on art when I got home. Though I'm behind...

some luck in July

Got the two big stacks of shirts printed! Yay! Now just the smaller stacks. Jeff and I finished listening to Hitchhiker's Guide. It ended up being a shorter day.

Came home to find my Luck Print Portfolio!! It had gotten lost in the mail, and so once it found its way back to Karen it was sent out once again and now I have it and it is so cool!

I worked on art, got that art done. Didn't work on the art I SHOULD be working on though. My emotional capabilities for certain things are totally shot right now.

Going to try harder at getting to bed at a right hour.

free food is free food

Had a nice, productive day at work. And the boss bought us all burritos! I was a bit suspicious about how cooked the chicken in mine was, next time someone is going to buy burritos I'll ask for steak. I have not gotten sick so I guess the chicken was fine.

We ran a bunch of smaller jobs. Have to do the quick ones before the long haul one. Which will be tomorrow. Long haul day, whoo! But getting hours is very good. Need the money money money now that I may eventually be moving moving moving.

Still no word from the landlord if our two months is here. Bleh.

Coated and burned screens and got home lateish. Worked on some art. Will work on some more art tomorrow.

Right now, I shall sleep.

I've used monday funday too many times

I feel so very tired. Need some iron or protein or something. A big ol' steak would be nice. Need to learn how to cook big ol' steaks.

A wrench was in the system at work, so we tended to shop stuff. I reclaimed a bunch of screens, coated half, burned some. Helped tape the job. Counted shirts. Not the most active day, but stuff was done.

Had a bunch of tea when I got home and worked on art stuff, though none of the art stuff that I SHOULD be doing.

Finished Order of the Phoenix which is just...so sad. Sirius :(

But Neville is a badass through and through.

designated relaxing weekend

Saturday:

This weekend was a recovery weekend. July is kicking my butt and hard. Lots of emotional stress. Alana is moving out now because she is not waiting for that 2 month notice and to have to look for a place whilst in class. She is moving in with her boyfriend. She just got fully settled and she is so cool. It really sucks.

Janet is working on cleaning out the basement and craft room. Preemptively going through the stuff that hasn't been gone through in a long while. She found her Sound of Music costume, which was an astroturf hat and cape, with a Julie Andrews figure on the top. She was the hills that were alive with the sound of music. Hahaha.

I walked to the Buttery and bought cupcakes, because cupcakes were needed. One for me, one for Janet, and one for Alana and Jared each. But they shared one, so I ended up eating two cupcakes.

I listened to Welcome to Night Vale and cleaned my room a bit. Just some tidying.

In the evening I went to see the new Refn movie "Only God Forgives". Odd to watch a movie where the villain is pretty much in the right, though I wouldn't say he was the villain. Very violent and I hid behind my hands a couple times. Beautiful but...errr. Not my cuppa tea.

Sunday:

Just like Saturday, I slept way in and it felt great.

Had a fried egg sandwich for breakfast. Relaxed. I went to Trader Joe's and got some food.

In the evening I biked down alongside the river to the Tannery (these artist lofts) and attended Marina's game night. Ryan and James were there, and I met Jordan, Jamie, Ariel, Rich, Jim, and Eric. Oh and Adele. A fun bunch. We played 25 words or less and I did exceptionally well in one round. From there we played Apples to Apples. It was a good group for it as well. No one played super literally, which is the worst way to play Apples to Apples.

It was a nice bike ride back. Very quiet. I was going through the park and rode past some cops but they didn't harang me. A little later on another person on a bike asked if there were any cops near by and I said "yes, in the park back there". Am I part of a cohort now?

Ahhh and now it is 1:25 and I should get to bed. Another exciting work week! I'm almost done with Order of the Phoenix.

Oh, and here is a photo of me looking pretty. Because I felt very pretty today.

yay for shoes, boo for everything else

The landlord came by with a realtor and contractor to look the place over a bit more, and they talked loudly about what they'd have to do and what needs to be done and all this stuff. Looks like we'll be getting the two months "move out" notice soon. I love living in this house. It's the right amount of space. I really like my housemates. I like the closeness to downtown. I just really like it and don't want to move. Don't want to foot the expenses of moving. Don't want to look for a new place.

Just don't want any of it.

So I worked on my leftovers, drank a Guinness, and now I'm trying to figure out which candy to eat first. Eating my emotions basically.

My new shoes arrived. Did I mention I finally bought a new pair of 'Roos for work? The price on Zappos dropped a bit. Poor things they just don't stand a chance.

At work we finished off the stack of shirts. I put on Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and there was a fun moment of Andrew double taking and saying, "did he just say Trillian?". We almost finished the whole book! Granted it is only about 5 hours long, but still. Yay for listening!

I broke down the press and cleaned the squeegees and floodbars and removed the tape from the screens. So tomorrow we will print a smallish job, get the backs set up on the big job, and get ready for next week.

Came home to the landlord stuff.

Have the feeling I'm forgetting stuff.

I need like two weeks of no obligations, no tasks, no nothing to be done about anything so that I can reset. It's been too busy, but it won't stop being busy till this month is over and even then who knows what August will bring.

Uhhhg

audiobooks in the queue for all to enjoy

Holy guacamole I'm beat!

Work was an endeavor of catching. It isn't hard but it is repetative and you just look at piles of shirts and KNOW you have hours left to work. But at the end I put on The Waste Lands on the stereo for Jeff and I to listen to (he requested an audiobook and I know he has read the Dark Tower series). Though I really dislike the narrator, so I may start something else tomorrow instead. Maybe Hitchhiker's Guide, because...DUH.

Finished one job and boxed it. Started the BIG 1500 piece job. Got about 1/3 of the way through it. I just had to take a second shower when I got home. Even my sweat was sweaty.

Theeeeen I met up with Ryan, Marina, and James to see Pacific Rim. Which was just as cool the second time around.

Now I'm back home and very tired. Off to bed with me!

winners and by proxy winners

Had a really good day! Work was largely spent catching a job, but I also helped clean squeegees and set up the job and other job stuff. It went by relatively fast, though I was hungry by the end. Morale is high and there is a good level of camaraderie. We've got two HUGE jobs to complete, but we shall do just that and it'll be awesome.

Back at home I relaxed for a bit. Changed out of my work clothes. On Zappos, Roos dropped in price so I finally caved and ordered a new pair of work shoes. Hate to doom them, but I've almost worn through the black sole on my current pair. Still have the white rubbery bit, but something tells me that that part isn't meant to be walked on.

Then I ran some quick downtown errands and met Ryan at 99 Bottles to hang out and catch up. I had the philly cheesesteak and ticked off #69 from my 99 Bottles card, and I convinced him to get a card. Tuesday night means raffle night as it turns out, and for each beer you get a ticket. Ryan won twice, but both wins resulted in the same Scrimshaw pint glass, so he gave me one. Awesome! Marina joined us, and we all got to gabbing and sketching and talking about bucket lists and art and travel. I ticked off #79 as well, but two pints was more than enough for me. Arrived at 7:30, left at 11:30. Pretty solid night of hanging out.

Been cooped up working on stuff, so yeah. Nice to get out.

Arya

  

5" x 7". pencil and ink on paper

feelin' good in this neighborhood

Three days of blogging! I think I'll go backwards for this one.

Today (aka Monday):

Welp, I got up to another gray day, though in Santa Cruz it normally just starts gray then clears up and is nice and blue. Work started slow. I caught some hat transfers, then I counted in some shirts. It was the type of work level where I can't do something lengthy like reclaim/coat/clean screens because I'll be needed to catch a job, but the job is taking some set up so I just sort of hang around tidying up a bit. Either way, it was okay. Though I think the next couple days are going to contain a madcap of high volume printing.

After Jeff was done, I reclaimed 20 screens. Something tells me we'll be needing them shortly.

At home I had some chocolate and tea and I, err, ordered more tea. I just like all the tea I've had from Adagio thus far, that I want more tea on hand. Plus I have incurred quite a few points, so I was able to cash them in for a gift card for myself! You get a point for every buck you spend (and you also get points for reviews and sharing on Facebook but I don't do those things). Anyway. Yeah. I'm so set for tea now. But I enjoy having the different blends. Do I feel like an earthy chamomile? Something floral? Yeah. Plus I've been drinking less beer now that I'm drinking more tea. Tea is better calorie wise, not that I'm a calorie counter. Also tea is cheaper in the long run. ANYWAY...I need to find a better place to store my teas, or organize them better on the shelf. Hmm.

I worked on some for fun paintings tonight. Just to keep my mind on fun things. Okay. Now. Lets get to the awesome weekend of fun with Auntie Brynne and Uncle Dan!

Saturday the 13th:

Brunch was moved to 11am, which worked for me. At 10:15ish I got a text from Brynne and Dan informing me that they had put our names on the list and that there were 10 people in front of them for seating. I was already up and showered by this point, so all I had to do was strut my stuff over to Zachary's and meet them! I started the day in pants, a shirt and a hoody.

I ordered the eggs benedict because I trust it to be delicious. Brynne had a hash and Dan a scramble. All was met with yums among good conversation about driving and art and vacation adventures. I like hanging with Brynne and Dan. They make for good conversation people and are very indulgent. They told me about how they wanted to trade cats, so Mom and Dad make sure that next time Salvador is near Auntie and Uncle, you don't get a dyed tabby bait and switch.

From brunch we walked up Pacific, wandering into a couple stores, and then we went into Verve for hot chocolate (me) and espresso (them). We looped around onto Front and said hello to Janet who was working a little street fair sale thingy. Then we walked down Front street and headed to their hotel to drop off things and change into warm weather clothes. They were staying near the wharf and had an excellent view of the bay. Brynne loaned me some shorts and I left my hoody in the hotel. Onwards we walked down to Lighthouse Field State Beach. We saw a young daughter surfing on her dads back like a turtle. Well he was laying flat on the board and paddling about in a non wave bit a water. Still it was cute. There were surfers, because there are always surfers. We went down to the dog beach and sat there for a while absorbing the sun and petting dogs. It was another nice meander back to the hotel, where Brynne took a nap while Dan and I walked out onto the wharf.

Collecting Brynne, we returned to my house. So much walking! Though all pretty easy walks. I was looking a bit pink on the cheeks at this point, but I had put on sunscreen so it could have been much worse. We had a little bit of ice cream and I showed them my place and then it was off again to downtown for dinner. Reservations had been made earlier in the day at Laili with the special request for patio seating. Ah what a patio! There was ivy growing up the walls and it was all just lovely. We had a salad course, a ... something course with yogurt and pumpkin, and the main red meat course with sides that were all delicious and naan (though it wasn't Indian food) and a bottle of wine shared betwixt us. It was all good and really nice. The table cloth was paper so we drew on it while waiting for food, hehe.

A chill had come in, so Brynne and Dan scuttled quickly off to their hotel and I returned home. Ah what a day!

Sunday:

Tried to sleep in but I was unsuccessful, so I had some oatmeal and did my internet rounds. I set out on my bike at 12:15 and picked up Brynne's hat from Laili (she had accidentally left it there) and then I headed east on Soquel for Charlie Hong Kong, where I had told Brynne, Dan, Nathan, and Christine to meet up for Lunch. In retrospect I might have suggested Santa Cruz Diner because that is a bit more "Santa Cruzy" but CHK is better for meeting groups of people who arrive at various times, versus a sit downish place, ya know? We all got noodles and I got the left overs! Christine (I'm sure that is her name but I may be wrong) is a former student of Brynne's. We all gabbed about this and that. Nathan did Tough Mudder on Saturday so he talked about that. He said the hardest part was doing it in wet shoes. None of us wanted to part ways after lunch, so we agreed to meet at my house and then carpool to De Laveaga for a walk. I figured that they could all easily find parking and then we'd all get into one car, but it just ended up being that only Christine could find one, and so they followed Nate & I to the park. I pass by the entrance every day on my way to work, so I figured it was high time to actually check it out. It was a wide well made path through the woods, with the sounds of a park full of people echoing up from the left. At one point we took some side trails and which led us right into the middle of a gold course. We wanted some water so we dashed across the green to sample from the water fountain. We found our way back to the path and then headed back to the cars. It wasn't the longest of walks but it was still a nice one. Always good to stretch one's feet. I hugged B & D goodbye, and we gave C a lift to her car. Nate sampled some of my tea and we chatted for a bit before he too headed back up.

Chatted with Daniel & Heather, and KRB a bit. Talked to Carmen about the upcoming album art. And that is where the day ended up. On a really good note.

I didn't get sunburnt. I had good company. I had lots of good food. I wish for more weekends like this.

Oh and good news, my print portfolio appears to no longer be lost in the mail! It should be back on its way to me soon. Yaay!

sketches of a fun time

My internet went weird last night and I couldn't post, sorry! I'll do a three day sum up tonight, promise! In the mean time, here are some sketches from my weekend with Brynne and Dan:

Pacific RiOHMYGODCOOL

Pacific Rim was so cool! No shakey cam, lots of great actors, the effects were cool. I was grinning through many points in the movie. It's just so cool. So many great parts, mostly the parts that happen between the start and the end of the film. I was so excited for this movie and it went above and beyond. Whooo!!

Meeting Brynne and Dan for brunch tomorrow. Yay. And then probably will wander around for the rest of the day. We'll find something to do.

At work we ran hat transfers, then I unboxed a bunch of shirts (like, a whole bunch) and I scrubbed the floor in one section, but it didn't seem to do much damage. I also picked up the eggs from the chickens and tidied up a bit. Could have tidied up more but eehhhh. I didn't want to kick up too much dust as all the shirts are white. Oh I also cleaned all the squeegees and floodbars.

It was a pretty nice day. Order of the Phoenix though. Man. Sirius Black is one of my favorite characters but I just know he is going to die and I don't want him to die but he will. This relisten is taxing on my heartstrings.

little big day

Whoo what a day in terms of my professional career! I won't go into detail because that would be not on, but it was a big one let it be known.

Work was short, but not as short as yesterday. We ran a job at top professional speed, and it came out looking awesome. It is great to run things on head 9 because lint and stuff only ends up on a couple shirts then you get it out of the image, ya know? Anything that gets in the image on head 1 is in a full rotation of shirts before it gets noticed.

I taped screens and did the egg pickup. Another 5!

Stuck around while waiting for clients to pick up stuff, and then it was done.

I went to the Santa Cruz Public Library and signed on for a card. About time! I checked out the Pricing & Ethical Guidelines book, which is the bible for illustrators. And a comic and a young adult book I've been wanting to read. Yay reading.

Then I got to working on professional stuff, but also taking the time to be calm about it.

hump day

Had a short day at work, decided to mix up the print order a bit in terms of efficiency. Tomorrow will have a lot of work done.

Checked the coop for eggs and got five. There is always one chicken in the nest right at eye level when you enter. It's plotting something.

After work, I made a much needed grocery run. At home I did some drawing and art communication back and forth. I took a bath and read in the bath. That was nice though not as relaxing as I would have hoped.

I'm feeling very drained, and no amount of Bruce Banner or Will Graham tea is reviving me (though only the B.B. blend has caffeine). Just need a good rest and some good company.

I'm almost done with Goblet of Fire. It's so sad! I want to listen to a happy story again, but I'm determined to see the Harry Potter series through. Only have three books left now, and Umbridge is next. Uhg.