Thursday, October 30, 2003
terribly lax
About updating. Sorry!
Had a fun-filled weekend up north in Washington. Rumour was that the Aurora Borealis would be visible as far south as us due to electromagnetic storms on the sun, but we had no such pleasure. Had a great time and am now coasting through the week.
I think we're having a small Halloween get together — friends watching movies and handing out candy. I'm bummed that the local "Witches' Ball" was held last Friday while we were out of town, due to (heh) not wanting it to conflict with Halloween (or, Samhain more probably). Maybe next year. Not that I have a costume anyway. I have some cat ears and my prom dress (a black, shiny, tea-length sleeveless thing that looks like Swan Lake on acid, I love it, and it fits again!). I don't think that makes anything, really.
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
weekend round up
A day late and a dollar short.
Had a wonderful time on Saturday meeting up with Shell, her friend Sara, and Jenn, even though my stupid train was an hour late pulling into Portland because of three seperate instances of fucking freight trains needing right of way on the tracks. I know Union Pacific owns the rails but honestly, freight doesn't have friends waiting for it at the station or need to make a connecting train filled with unhappy, fidgety other bits of freight. People should take precedence but of course money did instead. The worst part is that we were, at most, three minutes from the station for something like 30, just waiting for this freight train (okay, so this train at least had a better excuse: problems with its air brakes) to get the hell out of the way. I could have gotten out of the train and walked, ferpetessake. (When I saw my roommate on Sunday, she practically did the "Told You So" dance regarding Amtrak, which did not make me feel any better.)
Being on the train itself was very pleasant, I must say. I remembered from last time to bring my headphones because they actually run a movie between Eugene and Portland. The movie was Alex & Emma, with Luke Wilson (who looks like Nick Stokes from "CSI") and Kate Hudson (who looks more and more like her mom). It was fluff, total brain candy, but funny and enjoyable nonetheless. I also read about half of Written on the Body by Jeannette Winterson, which, once getting past the strange British (lack of) punctuation, was enthralling. I may need to reread the first part of it.
Back to Portland — the day itself was fun, even if I feel very badly for my friends because they got a parking ticket waiting for me (*hangs head*). We only got to go to Saturday Market, did not have time to do Tao of Tea together. I had a great time, though too short, but very tiring. And some awesomely good Indian chicken (the name of which I am blanking on right now) with peanut sauce (which I'm sure had some sugar in it, but it was a special occasion). They cut a $1 off of the price of the lunch because I didn't get rice or noodles. It was yummy and very filling.
Went back home, and at least the train ride was only delayed by ~5 minutes of so. The movie was a repeat of Alex & Emma. I read the rest of my book and with about an hour to spare, had nothing else to do. Somehow I forgot to eat my packed dinnersnack, a packet of tuna, but I wasn't hungry. I tried to catch a nap but all I kept thinking about was the book I'd just finished, how it seemed to have permeated my being and somehow woken my senses. Highly recommended.
The train arrived into Eugene and I stepped off to find Andra standing there looking great in deep burgundy velvet. We went off to the AbFab party, which I had kept an open mind about, but once we arrived I felt almost at once like an outsider. Parties are not my natural habitat. It's no one's fault as the party's hostess is better friends with An than with me, but it set the stage for my crabby mood and left me feeling like I'd retreated back into myself. It was the magic of a kamikaze and a shot of melon liquor with half and half that helped to restore me to some semblance of humanity… but not totally.
I'm making it sound so melodramatic. I blame the books I've been reading.
Sunday I started The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (and every time I see or speak her name I'm reminded of Moxy Früvous' "My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors"), and by yesterday morning I was halfway through it. There's a story within the book within the story and somehow, it's not cumbersome or forced, and I'm really enjoying it.
I spent some time on Sunday writing the answers for that university graphic artist job that I plan on applying to, and that made me feel like I'd accomplished something. When I started out, answering those questions sufficiently seemed insurmountable. This was a Real Adult Job and Who Was I Kidding. But, in the end, I built on my strengths — degree in illustration, practical design experience, and web site layout-design-coding since 1995 — and shored up the weak parts (experience with printing agencies, cough, cough) so that the final answers seem, to me anyway, to be strong and make me sound competent. I hope they think so too.
I decided my hair was starting to look way too severe, especially when pulled back, so I combed out a very fine fringe just over my forehead and cut them to chin length. Now they wisp out of a braid in a rakish manner and I don't look so much like Madonna of the rocks.
I was definitely not human yesterday. Tired, cranky, hormonal. Thank goodness for evening primrose. I'm a bit better today but still tired, as I stayed up too late finishing The Blind Assassin. I expect no pity for that.
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
you can have ze duck
I forgot this picture was on the digital camera.
It's from about a week and a half ago (10/3). They were doing "Ducks on Parade", a fundraiser thing where artists (sponsored by businesses) paint these giant fiberglass (?) ducks, which are placed around town for a while on display, then they're collected and auctioned off for charity. This was by far my favourite: Peking Duck. The Dragon Robe was awesome.
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
nothing new to say
Really.
Days are repetitiously the same. Wake up early in time to fix a couple of eggs for breakfast and catch the 6:30 am bus, though now that it's autumn, it's dark outside almost until I actually flip on the Open sign at 7:30 am. Work hellaciously long days for Indentured Servant pay. Come home, try to reconstitute my brain, which can handle little more than "Will & Grace" reruns. And dinner, yes, there's dinner in there somewhere, usually something I've had to throw together myself after getting home at almost 7pm. Take a shower and try to be in bed and sleeping by 9:30, because that 5:30 am alarm sounds all too soon.
Weekends are when I'm able to get anything of use done. And mostly it's tedium: laundry, shopping, errands. My life does not feel like it's my own.
This upcoming weekend looks good, though. A friend of mine that I've known online for years and years is going to be in Portland this upcoming weekend, so I'm hoping to get up to Portland to meet with her for the first time face to face. We're talking about meeting at Portland's Saturday Market, and ideally I'd like to take the train up to do this. The ticket is $40 round trip though, and while I think it's totally worth it to not have to drive, I don't think I have $40 to spare at the moment. Another option may be the bus, because my roommate said something about two travelling for the price of one (making my ticket about $15) but god, I hate riding the bus. No toilet (at least — I think no toilet), cramped seating, and so on.
And I'm also actually invited to a party. The theme: AbFab. Cocktails and junk food, dahhhhling.
Weekend after next, we're driving up to a small island in the Puget Sound. M's dad has a house there and we're all going for a weekend of peace and quiet. I think it will be nice and relaxing. I've seen pictures and it's very beautiful there.
I need a break.
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
signs
Tears for Fears is back together (all two of them).
Arnold is now the Governor of California (unless, of course, someone begins a drive to recall him).
Hmmmm…
Monday, October 06, 2003
yawn
My weekend consisted of: moving things, reorganizing things, donating things. Purging my email mailboxes (really, do I need email from 1998?). Dealing with dead vehicle batteries (not what I needed). Watching two oddly related movies: Being John Malkovich and The Truman Show (neither will end up on my top ten list of movies, but they weren't bad). Eating sugar-free chocolate covered cherries and sugar-free cocoa that is lovely and comforting. Reading my favourite comic book (which is as different from the typical comic book as a Little Golden Book is from War and Peace) and utterly falling in love with the cover of issue number 59.
I'm not an aggressively political person, so let this article tell you a tale of two very different candidates. It is a stark and pointed illustration of the difference between our current president, and the man I hope will be our next one.
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
truly weird
I was looking for something about the 1988 PEPCON explosion (as featured on "Extreme Evidence" on CourtTV on Monday) when I came across this article. Crop circles, poltergeists, cattle mutilations, glowing orbs… this place has it all. And it was closed off for research purposes for 6 years by the National Institute for Discovery Science. Fascinating stuff.
