A Year's Accomplishments

Time does fly. I just realized that it has been about a year since I made that comprehensive list of things to change. Here's an update for those who might care. Here's that list and what has happened since:


• Listen to more music. Check.

• Clean and organize everything I didn't during school. Check. I moved into a new apartment and got rid of everything!

• Compile and finish my unfinished projects from last term (the constructivist in particular). I decided to paint and take a break from school for a year. Now I am thinking of keeping art as my hobby and being a paralegal.

• Fix my bike's flat (blew a tube before a notable ride the other day). Well, My bike got stripped outside my work. Some jerk had a hex wrench and an allen wrench and decided it would be cool to steal my front rim, and my seat/seat post. Awesome. Still trying to replace those at this point.

• start cooking/eating better food again (been living off taco bell, etc.). Well, I don't live off of taco bell anymore, I live off coffee and salads from new seasons... and whatever is in my fridge. I am not really in a cooking mood right now.

• Get a platform bed. Got one! My dear friend Sonja moved and gave me her Ikea frame. Miss you Sonj!

• Communicate better with family/people I care about. Things are good, I talk to everyone weekly. I'm open with my parents and we have resolved some things, I think they see me as more of an adult now. I am talking to my little sister too, she is getting married this December. And I have started talking to mum's fiance. Big step.

• Find my paints/brushes. Check. I started painting again two weeks ago. Nothing pretty, just the act of painting is doing me good at this point. We'll get to the fancy stuff later.

• Stop smoking the occasional american spirit. This was a lie. I was smoking half a pack a day. I'm down to about two a day and almost ready to just call it quits. I'm pretty proud. It is harder than I thought.

• Meet more friends in the 'hood. Done, I have met many great people; Liz, Kelsey, Andy, Dan, Virginia and loads of other people at my new work. Couldn't be happier. And a friend from Vancouver moved into the hood. Does that count???

• Wake up early and start my days right. Well, I work at a bar and I will always be a night owl. I'm doing better. 8 am is pretty good for me.

• Read more of what I want to read/obtain practical knowledge. I've read about 12 books in the past year-that's more than I had in years past. I devoured three in the past week! It is great to have the time to read for pleasure again.

• Convert to cash—it doesn't go as fast as card. I use my tips sparingly and don't overdraft. I use the card for bills and am better at managing my finances that way.

• Contain my feelings when upset by injustice towards females in a male dominant workplace. I forgot about this one. It was situational--I had a corporate boss who was a douche. I feel pretty respected most of the time in my workplace--even if it is a bar.

• Present a 'truer' representation of who I really am to those I meet. It gets "truer" every day... :D

• Go to a dentist for fun. It wasn't fun, but I went.

• Plant things in the garden. I moved so I had a couple potted plants--rosemary and basil. The basil has recently given up.

• Keep a child-like innocence about things in life, a curiosity perhaps. No--let's be honest. I will always be somewhat of a sarcastic know-it-all... :D

• Ride to work (there's a huge hill... it's daunting). I got a new job half a mile away. No hill. I rode my bike to work and walked before my bike got stripped.

• Practice my lettering. I'm taking a break from this.

• Wait for someone special to come along. I will wait for them to come along--but I realize that it's a two way street. If I don't show interest, who's to say anything would ever come of it? I like more reserved guys and that means that I have to be more outgoing sometimes.

• Be self disciplined in my art. I'm painting again after a year break. Give me a break.

• Rediscover/solidify my spirituality/belief system. I am a christian. I think. This is an ongoing thing--it will be my entire life probably. I will never give up searching for a better understanding of God.

• Get out of bed everyday—sometimes I just want to be so lazy! I get out of bed everyday. Sometimes its at noon...

• Plan a weekend with my little sister who is all grown up. Done!

• Do my best at everything I do. Done--I always do.

• Get my OLCC. Got it! And have been a bartender for about 6 months.

• Find a new job serving. Got one.

• Move on. Truthfully I think I have. I'm finally not hung up on anyone and I think I am free to do as I please. Thank goodness. It's been a while!

So there you have it--a good year's progress. Until I looked at this, I had no idea I had accomplished so much.

Oh geez. I haven't made a post in almost a year. Some things have changed, some haven't. I found this great book today that I feel the need to share. I was at Powell's Bookstore looking for animal anatomy books to draw from when I found this treasure. Popular Natural History by Reverand J.G. Woods, fourth edition, 1885! Not only that, but this thing is in PERFECT condition and only cost 18.00... The illustrations inside are really amazing. I can't wait to read it and look at it more. Do be sure to view these at full size to appreciate their greatness, especially the snake.
Here's a peek:

Summer

SUMMER—it's finally here. The question is, what am I doing with my time now? I've compiled a list of TODOs. 

• listen to more music

• clean and organize everything I didn't during school

• compile and finish my unfinished projects from last term (the constructivist in particular)

• fix my bike's flat (blew a tube before a notable ride the other day)

• start cooking/eating better food again (been living off taco bell, etc.)

• get a platform bed

• communicate better with family/people I care about

• find my paints/brushes

• stop smoking the occasional american spirit

• meet more friends in the 'hood

• wake up early and start my days right

• read more of what I want to read/obtain practical knowledge 

• convert to cash—it doesn't go as fast as card

• contain my feelings when upset by injustice towards females in a male dominant workplace

• present a 'truer' representation of who I really am to those I meet.

• go to a dentist for fun

• plant things in the garden

• keep a child-like innocence about things in life, a curiosity perhaps.

• ride to work (there's a huge hill... it's daunting)

• practice my lettering

• wait for someone special to come along.

• be self disciplined in my art

• rediscover/solidify my spirituality/belief system

• get out of bed everyday—sometimes I just want to be so lazy!

• plan a weekend with my little sister who is all grown up.

• do my best at everything I do

• get my OLCC

• find a new job serving.

• move on.

There is a sort of accountability that comes with stating such personal things in a list on a blog. I'm hoping that putting it out there will make me more committed to the completion of such a list of goals. We'll see.

Listening to 'pale blue eyes' by The Velvet Underground and 'don't kiss me goodbye' by Ultra Orange & Emmanuelle. 

I had a reminiscent morning, I walked coffee cup and a spirit in hand to the park as the sun was coming up. I played on the merry-go-round and it reminded me so much of a film I watched last year about this time. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

My contacts weren't in yet so as the sun shining through all of the trees' leaves and I gently spun round and round, coffee in hand, it all came together in a beautiful blur of light and greens that reminded me so much of that film. Beautiful. I had to come home and listen to the soundtrack. Great start to my "Friday."

Portland Art Museum/Carlyle Benefit

I've been working on a student project for my typography class featuring Carlyle restaurant and a donor benefit for Portland Art Museum. Here's what I came up with.

No More Luscious

I'm in Walla Walla this weekend, and it's been six months since I've been here. So much has changed. I realized when I left that it would never be the same people-wise, but I expected the rest of it to remain untouched. I was wrong. Some of my best memories here include great food with good friends at many of the this town's fine restaurants. 

I drove around early this morning and was surprised that so many restaurants had closed. So many good places gone, they will be missed. Grapefields, Luscious by Nature and The Verve, just to name a few. I'm very disappointed about Luscious by Nature closing. Whether I was getting cocktails with friends, having Sunday brunch,  or the occasional dinner out, I loved that place. The atmosphere was always so fresh and I enjoyed the outdoor seating. Everything was so light, airy and white. It will be missed. It is good to see a few familiar businesses around. I'm glad to see Colville Street Patisserie is still in business.

Living in Portland, I take for granted that everything I usually buy is from a local business or farms. I accidentally got Starbucks this morning and then realized that some local businesses here had closed. Somewhat ironic. For the rest of my stay here, I will be sure to buy local. It is so important to support businesses that you care about, and not the huge corporations. I usually don't rant about this stuff, but it is so relevant. Be careful where your money goes, especially now that there seems to be less of it to go around!

Ps. I got a new haircut. It is exciting!

Yay Asparagus!

I went grocery shopping and ended up at Powells bookstore on Hawthorne. I was looking for a seasonal cookbook so that I can just eat well and cheap at the same time. I found an amazing book from the San Francisco Farmer's Market. It has a lot of really fresh recipes and they are very easy. I am really excited!

I made the asparagus salad. It consists of thinly sliced asparagus, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper. Delicious! I almost forgot, there is Parmesan/Romano cheese on top... :)

Helvetica Bold

I'm taking typography. Again. I love it. I've been working on an expressive type project using only Helvetica Bold, 90 pt, and within an 8" square format. I was using 3" square pieces of tracing paper in early stages and my kitchen was littered with them. In a stack they look pretty sweet.