halloween ideas for 2008

An ongoing list.

• Nudist colony--
  a group dresses in nude body stockings with silly genitals



• Amelia Earhart



• LEGO Princess Leia


• axolotl


• Ned & Chuck from "Pushing Daisies"

a previous weekend

I'll spare you the laments over how long it's been since I've written.

The previous weekend was wall-to-wall. Saturday morning, Erik & I went to a traditional Indian wedding ceremony, performed in Sanskrit and held on the enclosed glass skybridge of the World Trade Center, downtown. The priest was just over an hour late, so a few of the bride's female relatives stalled by singing for the crowd.

We had to leave early so that keep to my prior plan to help Ted load a fifteen-foot moving van with trash and yard debris. The van was full to the roof, but then we drove to my house for a few additional items. Notable among them was a round glass tabletop that Ted had to carry alone and which I held in place as Erik and Ted shoved a few more things in.

All three of us went out to the dump, where unloading went at least five times faster than the stuffing of the van had. We rushed to return the van, then Erik & I were only about half an hour late to the wedding reception-- well within Indian timing. The setting and dinner buffet were both gorgeous, but we left after the first dance to get home early.

Sunday morning I awoke extra early to meet Leslie and Bhavna downtown for the "Run Like Hell" half marathon. We had a nice, relaxed race, along with some decent race photos, as far as those go.

After the run, Julie and I went for breakfast at Juniors, and then dashed to Fred Meyer for a few things. When we got back to my house, Julie raked leaves onto the front garden beds while Erik & I made plans and readied for afternoon of shopping with Aspen & Mae. We picked them up and went over to Nob Hill, walking around a little before losing steam, stopping for bubble tea, and returning to the east side to check out Macy's.

Yes, I went to Macy's in the mall. It wasn't that bad, just looking for suits for Erik. We didn't find anything, but hanging out with Mae & Aspen is always a plus. Soon enough it was time to drive everyone home and go to Donna's house to play with the cats. She took me for dinner to Be Won, after which we went back to her place to converse more. It is truly impossible to not be sucked into the Donna time warp. I think I got home near midnight, ready to go to bed and read the final Harry Potter late into the night.

a universal note

This is the color of the universe: Cosmic Latte.

My dad sent me a link about it.

future vocabophilia

I have a new word to add to my most-loved pile, joining "citadel," "syzygy," and "magenta."

Snarl.

It was a license plate I saw on the drive to work this morning.

Cory came over this afternoon, but a downpour began as we tried to start out on a walk. Instead we went to the design library, where we looked through the entirety of Cabinet of Natural Curiosities. It was heavy on the snakes and light on the cephalopods, but still fascinating. What a massive, heavy, lusty tome! I can't believe that a whole hour went by as we quickly flipped through its fantastical prints.

After putting away the book, we noticed a little exhibit on 3D printing, along with a few examples-- sintered polymer lampshades. I read a short story excerpt on Salon.com not long ago that featured desktop prototype printers. I can't believe it's actually true. The price is surprisingly affordable. It feels like we're living in the future. I wonder if this machine will allow for the creation of a new media. Typeset print, newspaper, radio, television, internet... 3D printing?

in the eye of the apple

Unlike absolutely every other place I've lived, returning to Portland is always exciting. As sad as I am to leave behind in New York food uneaten, alleyways untrodden, and creative street art unseen with my eager eyes, I rejoice to feel the reach of trees' beneedled arms welcoming me home.

Still, New York's smoky concrete siren-call remains in faint echoes at the edge of my hearing. There's something about the history and the sheer grandiosity of its parks meant to mimic and better Nature, its time-painted concrete, its contrast at every layer.

By golly, I'm prone to lists.

The story of our recent trip to New York is as follows. Got in to Newark around a quarter to 6am on Saturday morning. Took a cab to my cousin's house in Tribeca. It was foggy, close, and strangely warm out, and we chatted with the Nigerian driver while he swerved with high beams on and a horn substituting for turn signals. We arrived in about twenty minutes, a record I'm sure. And then we sat by the front door, waiting for the hour to turn decent enough to ring the doorbell. When we finally did, we hung out in the kitchen for a while catching up with my cousin and her husband before retiring to the basement guestroom for a nap.

After an hour of repose, Kelley, Hudson, Erik and I joined Jonathan and Zara for lunch at a cute little Italian restaurant. We left the place in a bit of a shambles from Hudson's food-tossing antics, and Erik & I walked up Canal, through Chinatown for a new pair of cheap sunglasses for me and an I NY t-shirt for a coworker, then up Broadway for a shoe-shop detour, and over to the Lower East Side for random shopping and snackery. For me, the highlights were MooShoes (where I bought a pair of green shoes and pet their four cats) and Cake Shop (where we had iced tea and I ate an enormous concoction of puffy chocolate cookies and whipped peanut butter frosting).

We decided to see a movie at our old favorite theater, the Sunshine, and Into the Wild was just about to start, so we went for it. It was long and cold. Afterwards we tried to go to the Kampuchea Noodle Bar, but the wait was too long, so we took a cab to where we thought 'Snice was, near our old West Village apartment. We walked around for a while before calling Julie for the address, and then when we got there it was closed. We ate at Ma Ma Buddha, which we had seen on the long walk, then walked back to Tribeca. We got in around 12:30am.

Sunday we got up late (10 or 10:30am-- still early PST!), ate bagels in the kitchen, and went to the park with the Gazdak family. We headed back to the house around 3pm to get ready for the wedding, stopping by Burritoville for a late lunch. Erik and I showed up at Battery Park Gardens at 5pm, which was actually an hour early, so we stood around trying to be useful and buying sangria from the outdoor bar. It was absolutely beautiful down there, at the very tip of Manhattan.

I don't think I can describe the wedding itself. Christina was radiating classic beauty with her calm demeanor, even having to keep her right hand elevated in a hot pink cast after lacerating two tendons, opening a wedding gift of a kitchen knife a week prior. Of course I chatted up Aton's date, the Natalie Portman look-alike. She said that she had gotten the acceptance email for law school in an internet cafe in Saharan Egypt, typing on a keyboard covered in sand. I also finally worked up the courage to tell Aaron Cometbus that I'm a fan, right when he was about to leave with the centerpiece.

Once the restaurant closed down, we went back to Amy and Miriam's hotel room and hung out til 3:30am. From there it was a beautiful walk back to my cousin's house in the sweet night air. I forgot how warm those humid summer nights remain, although it shouldn't have been quite so summery.

Monday morning was tough. Erik and I took our time getting up, then walked up to 'Snice for lunch. From there we went to NikeTown to check out the new running floor and test-run shoes in Central Park. It was a race after that to get to the airport, but we made it with five minutes to spare, which is just perfect for me.

And that was the trip. Short, sweet, and packed with memories of things I'll never see anywhere else.

bright lights

3:33 am. Back from the wedding. Don't feel drunk necessarily, silly drunk. Walked back from the after party, the hotel room of two bridesmaids. It's the only wedding I've been to that the bride and groom showed up after their expected roles.

I met Aaron Cometbus, which was... fanboyish. More on that tomorrow morning when I can think straight. I met some amazing people-- Sarah, the Natalie Portman look-alike, Sabrina the party-starter, and Amy, whom I knew for many years but didn't rank a chance from til tonight.

New York is amazing, is beautiful, is walking wherever. More on that later, hopefully.

Had my first cigarette in years after lusting for them. We'll see in the morning.

sleepy city

I can't believe how fast that was. We're sitting on the front stoop of my cousin's house, because it's 6:30am and just too early to rouse them. I guess that's my technically-southern polite streak.

The sun is rising through thick fog here in lower Manhattan. With a cut-off view of luxurious rooftop trees and spires of grand old buildings through the slow mist filter, this could be another time and place. It's quite sweet to be here before everything wakes up; yes, even New York City sleeps, especially down here in Tribeca.

in flight

I am satisfied that I have wrung every last drop of time out of the past few days. Busyness comes in pairs. On Monday I went to the gym, went home to make dinner, then went to therapy. Tuesday I went for a run, made dinner at home, then went to IKEA with my brother. Wednesday I went for a run, made dinner, and went to OMSI for the Body Worlds 3 exhibit for its last hour of the night (the last day is Sunday, and it will be open 24 hours a day from Friday til then). Last night I went to the gym, warmed leftovers, and mourning the time to pack, went to Nine Muses to see a friend play solo. We got home at midnight.

I've been excited to go to New York all week, but tonight, in the reality of the airport food court, I'm just as drained as my time. Boarding is starting. See you in New York.

running becomes transcendental

This time of year is a smeared drop of my heart's blood, sighing through the beauty of yellow tree-shapes as they dance and bow under the sky. The colors dissolve my eyes and emotional boundaries, if I had any of the latter to begin with.

I drove by a copse of the most livid yellow trees last week, the quality of color that sings resonant heat into the heart, and so it was with glee that Cory and I walked over there. Cheery golden sumac leaves littered the gutter, and looking both ways to ensure that no one else was around, I grabbed great handfuls and tossed them into the air. They fell in slowed twirling showers, just as you'd dream they would. It felt like golden sunshine glitter, raining down.

After work I went for a run, the first test of my autumn running mettle. The windshield wipers had gotten a workout on the drive home, but I barely got a taste of raindrops under the threatening sky. The air was damp and sweet to breathe, nobody else was out, and cars gave me right of way because they felt sorry for me out in the rain. It was also fairly warm, just a perfect evening for running.

There's a point in the route I ran last night (my Lazy Route, a three-miler from my house) that always feels good. I'm more than half done, it's a downhill stretch, and there's a peep of the view to the west hills. My stride lengthens, breathing slows its cadence, and my thoughts become more vivid as the physical takes on a mechanical automation.

I noticed crows out, as joyous of solitude as was I. They wheeled in the sky, stretching their wings, winding flight paths for what seemed the sheer joy of it. As my thoughts deepened and lost their verbal sheaths, I thought-- it's the crows and I, thinking the same thoughts. There are no words, but only breath and the sound of the train. We're all stretching our wings to feel the air rush through our feathers. Every thing I saw, I was. My sight transfered my consciousness.

And then I changed course to run back by a house, out front of which I had seen at the start a bag of free calla bulbs. I ran the rest of the way home with both arms clutching the collapsing, wet paper bag. I've not seen so many crows, and crows alone, for a long time.