Thrihyrne

I'm with evannichols serving as official Minion during the two days of Stumptown Comics Fest here in PDX! Since DW doesn't have a scrapbook function (probably my only disappointment with it) there won't be a picture here, but I'll include one in the LJ entry. I won't be around much until Tuesday, in fact, because I'll be taking my driving test at 8:00 a.m. Monday morning (aie!) and then I have an interview for a part-time box office position at a theater company Monday at 5:00 before Evan takes me back to my place. I have two art modeling gigs this week as well on Tuesday and Thursday, so a busy week in general.

So I'm posting and dashing off, but it's great fun to be at my first comic-centric con, especially spending two days with a bona fide webcomic artist! :D

There's a TV show called Portlandia that debuted earlier this year on IFC, the Independent Film Channel. I hadn't heard of it until talking with Jen, and so I downloaded a couple of episodes while with her in Eugene. It's terribly self-aware, and if a viewer hadn't lived in Portland in recent years, I'm not sure that s/he would get the many inside jokes of living in this particularly self-aware city. But as someone who has, I found many of the skits hilarious because they're so true. One of them is about a penchant for stores and individuals to decorate things with images of birds, especially in a solid cut-out fashion. I'd remembered seeing that in some stores on Hawthorne from when I was here before. So when on my first night back, I saw a store called Branch Birdie with two bird mobiles in the window, I laughed aloud. I got a picture of it this morning:



This won't necessarily be funny to anybody else, but if you've seen the show and the skit, perhaps you, too, will get a giggle.

In other exciting news, one of my former Portland Opera buddies who I'll be seeing tomorrow for a walk around the Hawthorne area, he was looking on Craigslist for a job for himself in retail when he saw a post for a position at a yarn store! Good friend that he is, he told me about it and I sent off an email this morning, including not just my qualifications, but also a couple of pictures of me in that incredibly complicated thistle-patterned cardigan I finished not long ago. Fingers crossed!

It's been a while, but one jumped out at me today, and I just assumed two more would follow, and they did. The one that really caught my eye was:
Those darn accordions! [picture of an accordion]
Pro-Accordion & I vote!

This one I suspect many people on my flist own, in green print on a yellow background:
reading is sexy

And then, to round out my morning drive to the Opera:
I ♥ PIRATES

Happy Friday to you all! Much to my great pleasure, I had a rather decent sale this morning, and unexpected at that. Which means I have another full week to ensure I make commission, and hopefully then some. On the personal front, it's been rather a week of self-awareness and change, and I feel like I'm on the cusp of some pretty profound understandings. Like the fact that I want to learn how to safely live alone, since that's what I'm drawn to. And that life's short: maybe I really should apply for this program for Audience and Fan Studies at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media & Cultural Studies. I mean, why not?? No, I don't know what I'd do with such a degree, but I suspect I could do some teaching, some editing, keep involved in various fan communities and write some more papers. At any rate, rather a turbulent week, but I'm looking forward to some down time this weekend and maybe spending some time with snottygrrl and/or one of my work colleagues. Two in particular are now confidantes and think I'm wonderful and said some things to me I needed to be reminded of. Such as: If I just listen to some of the truest parts of myself, and act accordingly, I'm going to be fine.

So, enough navel gazing from here. I'll do some editing and writing, too. Happy weekend! ♥

Today's been great! I'm tired, having stayed up until ridiculous o'clock this morning (though it allowed me to have a nice IM with Callum) and then getting up at 9:00, but had a great day. I edited for three different people until 2 o'clock when I finished up the Wraeththu short story I posted, and showered and got ready to go meet up with evannichols, snottygrrl and her friend A. with whom she's staying until she finds her own place. We got to go 'shopping' through Evan's treasure trove of items from the storage unit he'd cleaned out. It was much fun, and I came away with all kinds of treasures thanks to his generosity! I got a bookcase, caddies, purple and pink plastic storage containers, an orange salad spinner, two beautiful glass vases (one green and one with a purple design), Hallmark stationery from his high school days, tape, and some other kitchen items and sundries. What a blast! It was great to see snottygrrl again and her friend. At first I was outnumbered as the three of them are Lewis & Clark graduates, but over dinner (excellent Mexican at Iron Horse) I realized that for once I was in a majority in that Evan, snottygrrl and I are all divorced. The weather was warm and beautiful and I've been productive which always feels good. I brought home my goodies and washed them all and washed down the bookcase (it's metal and had been in storage), and now I'm getting caught up on email. I also picked up a book from the library that Diana Gabaldon referenced as a resource for when she wrote Brotherhood of the Blade, Homophobia: A History. So I'll read a bit of that before bed. Early night for me tonight! Church/singing tomorrow, then I'll pack up a bunch of stuff to take to the new place. I'm excited that I'll be able to put some of my own former wedding gift things out on display and have nothing but my own art in my room. There's also space on the fridge for my fridge magnet collection. That might not seem like a big deal, but Julia's fridge was already covered with her own stuff, so no room for my things.

Oh and thanks to listening to EdgeRadio as I often do, I've now picked up the album Faded Seaside Glamour by the Delays. Great stuff!

You know why? Here's a few reasons:
~ went by to my new roommate's house and signed a lease, got a key, and we chatted. It's going to be a very, very good fit. She's excited I'm moving in, I'm excited to be moving in. Our personalities will mesh well, and I'll have plenty of alone time to write and whatnot. And heat. My room has a heating vent that works well. :) I'll be moved in next Saturday, I expect.
~ finally finished up the baby booties for fungus_files' newest bub and got them posted to her.
~ had a wonderful, so much needed phone conversation with risiepookie this morning. I'd begun to despair of ever actually getting her on the phone, and we had a good half hour chat. What a treat!
~ enjoying the reality of being able to have weekend plans with both evannichols and snottygrrl since we all live here. It's just so novel!
~ work included a viewing of The Princess Bride, with pizza, movie snacks and popcorn. I really do love working at Portland Opera.
~ quick but appreciated call to cim_halfling. ♥
~ my housemate is out at a play tonight, and with my hallmate gone, I've had the house to myself since I got home, so have been able to update my website and do other things and have music on and just totally chill out. Bedtime is coming soon..

The one WTF element is the State of Oregon's revenue department. I posted here early in tax season that I hadn't filled out my OR state income tax form properly, so they sent me a bill for $92. Which I promptly paid online. Then, a couple of weeks later, they mailed me a check for $92, saying I'd overpaid. If that weren't eyeroll-worthy enough, today I received in the mail a follow up bill, saying that not only did I owe them $92, but they've added on a 5% late fee. o_O
Um... I'll be calling the Department of Revenue tomorrow to please ask them to make up their minds one way or the other.

Tomorrow's Friday! Fics are being written! I'll be moving to a warm and cheerful environment! What a great thing. Oh, and I saw the new Star Trek. I was entertained, and had an insta-crush on the young Spock. No in-depth analysis from me on this film.

Today I was behind a truck with a few bumper stickers that caught my eye: one is an old fave, "Not All Who Wander Are Lost." Next to it was "Don't Act Stupid- We Have World Leaders For That."

*sigh*

Interestingly, there was a car next to me at a light with a Rhode Island license plate. It was a personalized plate that said "OREGON." Interesting! So perhaps the person had been an Oregonian who'd moved to RI and come back, or lived in RI and had a fascination with Oregon and then moved. It captured my imagination, anyway.

Happy Friday. Feeing rather pensive and sulky about many things I don't wish to elaborate on, but I hope you all have a good weekend. While I'm in a funk on the interior, I'm wearing my cowboy boots and a fun red shirt with a bright blue funky cat so I at least look like a rock star, even if I just want to go off into the woods for a couple of days and be a hermit. Thanks, Callum, for the brief IM this morning, and to snottygrrl for the card which I received today. I'd written you a short letter as well, so the letters must have crossed!

I have good news to report! I've even been able to IM more often with Callum, and he noted, to his shock, "An optimistic Kristi! For two days now!" :D
A few of the pretty cooling events of this week: ( Read more... )

Bottomless thanks to you for enduring my periods of ennui and self-doubt. It's pretty tremendous to be feeling not that!

We had another snow dusting this morning, so I cleverly took my camera to the Opera and took a few pictures of the opposite hill with snow and fog.
( portland hills with snow dusting )

It really is pretty, the view from the opera.

And now I have pictures of my new place! Rather than link them all, I'll just link to the last page of my 'Portland' gallery. You can see my room, various rooms in the house, a couple of outside, and one of the cats, Stan. Enjoy!

This was the first year I participated in Yuletide, and I was alerted to my story last night! The writer selected Pullman's His Dark Materials to write for me, so if you're a fan, go here to read "Last Ounce of Courage" written for me. It focuses on Balthamos, which is even better; I'd selected him as one of the characters I would be particularly interested in reading about. I'm about to write a review for my author. I forgot to note that before all the snow came, I saw two of what I consider to be my own dæmon, or animal that represents my soul, up close and personal eating the cat food on my friends' porch. Raccoons! When I first read the series, I spent loads of time wondering what my dæmon would be: finally it came to me. A raccoon, as I am indeed a night-creature and very clever with my hands, and his name is Gymnopedie. But I'd never seen raccoons up close; they really are pretty cute, even if they're scavengers.

I got to the Christmas Eve service at the Episcopal cathedral in NW Portland last night, but very nearly didn't get home. I am so glad that I went; I've been waxing a bit melancholy about not singing, so this was my opportunity to sing hymns, at least. It was a reasonably high-quality choir (having sung in semi-professional choirs pretty much the entirety of my adult life, yes, I am a choir snob) and I only felt badly that they didn't get to sing the many anthems lined up during communion. There weren't that many of us in attendance due to weather!! But I left with a very light heart and then... had to back out over a snow burm because I'd had to park on the street, and very nearly didn't get over it. My wheels were spinning and there was that awful "tire spinning" stink, but eventually Bianca the Power Subaru™ was a hero and I was able to back out onto the road and get home.

I'm readying myself to return to my other home as Yvonne's son returns today. I'm washing the sheets and will move my things so he feels like it's his room and I'll go back to the other house this evening after I pack up my computer. Right now the house is very quiet so I'm going to drink coffee and write, then when he house livens up I'll take a few more pictures of the inside of the house this time and make some phone calls. Much of my family and some of my dearest friends are on the east coast, but the day is young. At least here in the Pacific time zone!!

For all of you who are celebrating today in particular, I hope that you gain new pleasant memories. This has certainly been a memorable first holiday season for me. Oh! And in what may be the best gift for me, the new friend Julia I mentioned a post or two ago, three houses down in the huge house? Has now suggested that I move in there as my next residence. Aside from needing to get internet since she doesn't even own a computer (and I'd need a space heater as she keeps the house cold, though with another person hopefully I could convince her to change), there are NO downsides. In fact, it rocks. A lot.

Hokay. HUGE winter storm. Snow. Snowdrifts. Shoveling out the 3 1/2 foot snowdrift in front of Jill's car so someday she can get out, but not dealing with excavating the back of her car. In my pictures, I focused on the back, but the foreshortening doesn't show just how tall the wall of snow was in front of the cars- it was very intimidating to shovel. Doing said shoveling as frozen rain began to fall and the wind blew. Having it be pretty calm through today and then looking over at the window and seeing blizzard-like conditions. ::whimpers:: Offering up my car for Jill to get to work, eventually (ironically, my car is under trees and escaped the snowdrifts), only to realize that there's a rule in effect that no-one can be on the road without chains. Do I have chains? Hell, no! There's about 1/4 inch of solid ice on the streets. No Lessons & Carols service; services canceled all over Portland today. Some people's airline flights out at PDX have been canceled until Tuesday! Apparently we could get another 4-8 inches of snow on top of all of the packed snow and ice tonight.

But I'm in a safe, warm, cozy place with two good friends, plenty of food, three affectionate cats and a dog, and internet. Now I have no excuse not to write, and I have started— also making significant progress on the baby sweater sleeves. I'll be be really sore tomorrow after the shoveling. :)

So, without further ado, here are some pictures to capture this craziness. Since everyone keeps telling me, "Portland isn't usually like this!" ;)

( snow falling last night, snowdrifts around Jill & Yvonne's cars, and a couple of other winterscapes )