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Monday, June 30, 2003

 
5:59 PM: [#] [0]

oh! if only i could have paid trixie off in 3 years: i'd be right in line for the second-generation prius! it finally has a fold-down back seat! and it comes in red! no moonroof, though: maybe by the time i'm in the market again, they'll have one. :)

 
4:09 PM: [#] [0]

hee! i suppose this explains a lot (from the "what warning label are you?" quiz):


update: michael also needs to be kept away from small children.

 
3:16 PM: [#] [0]

oo! i gotta get me a homeland security choker!

 
11:47 AM: [#] [0]

it looks like i'm getting forwarded messages from csusm now. i wasn't before and the fact that mail is hosted on coyote means an admin had to have done it recently. alas, it mostly just means i'm receiving spam again.

Sunday, June 29, 2003

 
11:03 PM: [#] [0]

today we went to powell's because michael had coupons. trying to spend nothing, i still walked out with $50 worth of blank journals. *sighs* though it looks like they're no longer carrying my two favourite handmade blank journals.

later we finally went to "bowling for columbine" at a theatre which still has gold screen curtains which open and close. now i'm left with a strong desire to move to canada. my favorite part had to be the bit where he goes to the k-mart headquarters: the second time, with the press, brings results.

then a walk to burgerville and upon returning home, reading on the roof until it got dark. michael's already asleep now, but i'm still reading & typing & listening to natalie merchant.

Saturday, June 28, 2003

 
10:51 PM: [#] [0]

well, that was weird. we left to see "bowling for columbine;" we ended up seeing "the hulk."

Friday, June 27, 2003

 
2:38 PM: [#] [0]

today i went to an extras casting call at oregon 3d for a corporate video shoot, where the director said i had a "nice smile" (nobody else got complimented :). i have no idea when i'll actually know about the job, which is all day tuesday and pays $20. ah, well, what else am i doing, right? and i'm sure michael's just glad i'm getting out during the day. :)

the "casting call" boiled down to a brief explanation about the project, lining up for a digital head shot, asked for a name & phone, and then leaving the room. i had forgotten how everyone at an audition sizes everyone else up, to see if they can tell how much competition you are. i always had an advantage there because i look pretty harmless until i actually get on stage, at which point i kick ass. of course, just taking a photo is different because i typically take awful photos, but i think my chances are pretty good because they need about 15 people and 25-30 showed up: in general, i think i can rise to the top half of almost anything. and if not, well, heck; i was at least 5 years older than anyone else in the room.

then i went to goodwill: i forgot how much fun that place is, and what a great source for assemblage & collage materials. :D

Thursday, June 26, 2003

 
4:07 PM: [#] [0]

it's so windy outside!

 
10:35 AM: [#] [0]

hey. i've been here a week.

yesterday michael bought a futon and i came along for the ride. it was a heck of a futon. a futon to end all futons. and the amount of money invested in this grand futon is why all my previous furniture has been free. we had a coupon from the chinook book which paid for a little more than the delivery and has now more than paid for the cost of the chinook book.

amelia keeps mistaking the art room floor for a litterbox. it's really driving us crazy: it's not a lovely thing to wake up to in the morning, as it only seems to happen after we go to bed. and it only started after i got here. what's up with her?

Tuesday, June 24, 2003

 
1:04 PM: [#] [0]

last night the sunset was very maxfield parish so i went up to the roof and watched it all fade to gunmetal grey, the lights twinking against the purple shadows. i'm still not used to how late it stays light here in the summer and i wish i could be happier about it but it seems it will just get proportionally darker in winter, and winter will be the true test of my seasonal fortitude.

but portland is selling fireworks! i'm so excited! i haven't lived in a state which sells fireworks in almost 20 years! and look at all the sunshine today! what am i doing here typing?

Monday, June 23, 2003

 
2:05 PM: [#] [0]

well, that's weird. i ditto-ed the nefarious backup to tori and it assigned all the stuff that used to belong to me to another user on the machine, even though ditto is supposed to preserve file ownership. hmmm.

 
10:41 AM: [#] [0]

i'm sleeping later. i consider that to be a good thing, as the floor and michael and amelia were really conspiring to wake me up at 5 a.m. so it turns out i can cook well enough for us both, though homemade dinners will depend quite heavily on our tolerance for pasta & salad.

brian & i have discussed how knowledge of something (say, stars) can lead to a greater appreciation of it. then he sent along this "contrary -- and elegantly written -- view from mark twain." but i actually liked twain's new description of the river, too. i guess there's some part of me that can shut that analytical view on and off, to go between, "oooo! pretttyyyyy!" to "damn! that's fascinating!", in part because someone who wasn't a riverboat pilot would find a different way to analyze the river (perhaps in terms of fishing, or flooding, or the habitat of its native grasses), and i would find that fascinating, too. i think the danger in subject knowledge is in thinking that's the only way to view the world, rather than just one way.

there's a link to other commentaries at the bottom of the article which is easy to miss, but in their own more elegant ways echo my sentiments.

Sunday, June 22, 2003

 
9:29 PM: [#] [0]

last night was mostly clear and from the roof i saw a green-hued falling star flare briefly between the big dipper and casseiopia. i thought i knew what to wish for, but it turns out that leeann & dean's sister-in-law got into a big car accident and her children were hurt so badly one of them may not walk again. :(

 
11:54 AM: [#] [0]

i forgot to mention that the saturday i was moving (i would have been at leeann & dean's), michael was accepting an award from psu as the coolest librarian ever. well, actually, it was the "butler award for library faculty service" but one of his supporters said he was "the model of a librarian for the 21st century." whoo! go, michael!

my favorite quote, though, was how he handles problems with "unwavering affability." that's such a succinct (but accurate) description of him it made me laugh out loud.

Saturday, June 21, 2003

 
5:42 PM: [#] [0]

welcome to the longest day of the year. i didn't realize portland had rain like a light switch: on/off, on/off all day.

so i guess i should talk about the last day driving up the coast, because it turns out northern california and southern oregon are stunning, dramatic landscapes. kristin was absolutely right about taking the 101, though i have to say it's a more comfortable drive on the california side because it's more often 3 or 4 lanes.

as to the sites: first i stopped at the drive-through tree which i never got to drive through because people kept getting their pictures taken in it with their arms outstretched. paul bunyan & babe the big blue ox were surprising things to find in klamath falls. so was hobbiton, just up the road, of which the only evidence i could find was the sign. i passed 6 elk grazing in a glen which seemed unphased by my drastic turnabout and subsequent parking job. they were less than 100 feet away, and though dusk was falling and the mist was rising, i could almost hear them breathe. then i stopped by a lily-choked lake and let the chilly dark gather around me like a blanket.

after the oregon border, it turns out the rogue river is worth mentioning, especially the rogue river bridge. i suspect that if oregonians do anything exceptionally well, it's building bridges, and certainly portland has more than its fair share of pretty ones. and then (and this qualifies as quite possibly the strangest thing i have ever seen) there was a man on a bike riding hard on the side of a windy road with a big fluffy siamese cat standing on his shoulders! john had said walport was the innsmouth of oregon, but i didn't see it. it was convenient at that point to take the 34 through corvallis, which gave me a chance to see what rob would be getting himself into, and it strikes me that corvallis is the kind of place he would like quite a bit. and the 34 was a wonderful, wild road with nobody ahead or behind me.

but after salem, every mile closer to portland just seemed to get longer. after i missed the exit from yahoo maps, i took the next one and was able to find my way from memory, which i take as a good sign. and when i got to michael's door, there was a "welcome home gretchin" sign and a plate of chocolate chip cookies waiting for me (awwwww!). a few quick trips out to the car, a purple & red sunset, and a trip up to the roof rounded out the night and i fell asleep quickly. but i haven't wanted to drive for the last few days. :)

Friday, June 20, 2003

 
12:59 PM: [#] [0]

changing my address for my working assets credit card was an ordeal! although first they had noticed "unusual activity" and frozen the card, so we had to clear that up first. then to change my address, i had to pass the "where has gretchin ever lived?" quiz: they asked me about where i lived when i was in high school in colorado springs, what "other town" i lived in in colorado (which one?), what street i lived on in that other town (again, which one?), where i lived in pennsylvania (which was bad because i've obviously blocked everything out about that), and the strangest question ever: what state i was living in when i got my social security card (!)

they see michael's name as belonging to the phone number i was calling from, and it's still linked to his old address next door. this makes them suspicious. the fact that my old work number is still apparently active w/ my old message on it is also "a little suspicious," so i "should be prepared to show [my] driver's license" for the next purchase i make, and only then will they remove my old work number.

not everything in life happens neatly, people! god forbid anyone travel or move without first checking with their credit card companies! argh!

 
11:48 AM: [#] [0]

michael & i are trying on domesticity like a new pair of slippers: yesterday i put things away, reorganized the dishes in the kitchen, and discovered a whole host of things we can't possibly live without (like flat horizontal surfaces & trash containers).

then we went to dinner (at rose's diner), went shopping for essentials at trader joe's (where i have to learn to shop differently than i'm used to), discussed upcoming weekend plans (bill tonight, gaming saturday for him, and sunday, well, he's -still- not fully moved out of the apartment next door!) and vaguely addressed financial divisions.

today i need to sign the lease (among other things, this will start the clock going on deomsetic partner residency requirements). then going to zupan's for yogurt & salad dressing. michael says elephant's deli may be going away so i must hoard tomato-orange soup before it does. he recommended going to costco/world market to check out tables and he suggests the futon place down the street. and i'm supposed to be checking out cell plans: michael's goal is to get rid of the landline, if possible. i'll do it if i can get one number to give to people i don't know which goes immediately to voice mail. :)

is the mundanity overwhelming yet?

 
10:48 AM: [#] [0]

the skydiving pix are back, jeff! but on this server, the real movies aren't set to stream. :(

 
8:28 AM: [#] [0]

upstairs jennifer says: "the shadowridge team descended on your apartment starting the sunday after you left. they said they were going to throw the patio shelves in the dumpster. i salvaged a couple of shelves and 6 bricks and they tossed the rest. evan, or ethan, the boy scooting neighbor was going to take some too, but he was too late.

they ripped out the living/dining divider and put in new carpet. the place has been painted and i imagine it will be cleaned and rented again next week. they work fast."

Thursday, June 19, 2003

 
9:41 AM: [#] [0]

why do we love the canadians? let us count the ways. you can thank rob for keeping a sharp eye out for that sort of thing.

 
8:16 AM: [#] [0]

hey, look. i'm in oregon now. portland, even.

Monday, June 16, 2003

 
11:53 PM: [#] [0]

busy day! after wrestling the post office to return the apartment keys, ben took me to the sonoma valley (an hour away) for what he says are the best biscuits & gravy in this area. we also shared an eggs benedict w/ spinach, onions & bacon along w/ sparkly homemade lemonade.

later we headed to telegraph street and wandered about uc berkley (nice library, michael!). cody's books is no powell's, but it's better than most. a guy named scott hit on me. we went to the raleigh beer garden which seems it's like in another world.

then to the albany bay trails, which is as interesting for its landscape as it is for the funky art sculptures and paintings that decorate one of its fringes. it was a great place to explore and climb about. ben took pix and i'm hoping he sends them on.

we ended the evening at trader vic's, which ben found disappointing and where i discovered i'm not ever going to be anyone's drinking buddy. but the view was gorgeous and the sunset spectacular. i drove us home in ben's car. and now i'm tired! but i'll be in oregon tomorrow. oregon!

Sunday, June 15, 2003

 
11:45 PM: [#] [0]

i am staying tonight at ben's aunt's apartment in berkely. it was a short drive from sunnyvale to berkley, though i was lost for about 20 minutes because a street fair blocked off one of the streets i had to use. i had an excellent bbq bacon burger (w/ onion rings!) at a pub ben goes to. i have no idea what we'll be doing tomorrow.

this morning, dean fixed us cherry muffins for breakfast and then we were off to the farmer's market. this time i used a lot of sunscreen and avoided getting burned (imagine that!), though i'm still suffering a little from the previous exposure. after shelling peas, we then went to the sushi boat place and ate a -lot- of interesting sushi, including a chile relleno sushi.

Saturday, June 14, 2003

 
11:52 PM: [#] [0]

who knew i was the incarnate of lust?

"passion, awareness, aliveness"
You exhibit an excitement and enthusiasm about life as well as multi-faceted creativity. You have the gifts of perception, extended vision, insight, and intuition and display an eagerness to display your full creative expression. You have the ability to fully express yourself, free of lies and masks and falsehoods. You can overcome your fears using your creativity, as shown by the woman on the card."

you can thank rob for the link to the "which major arcana of the thoth tarot deck are you?" quiz.

 
11:43 PM: [#] [0]

today was a dean-made waffle breakfast, the tea shop, the palo alto apple store, re-organizing the car, a call to ben, a trip to the apple campus and the itunes wing, dean-made calamari, a trip to starbucks to see the tracton clan (ken, akiko & ciel), and a stop at borders where i almost but didn't pick up an audio book. i really, really, really like leeann & dean. tomorrow night i'll stay at ben's.

i have yet to call the moving company to see what's happening there and probably won't until monday. that's when i'll have to send back the keys to the apartment anyway, since i woke up friday morning suddenly realizing i had forgotten to turn them in.

i wonder if everyone got the free cd packages i sent before i left.

 
12:47 PM: [#] [0]

i got to leeann & dean's last night around 11. i would have been there at least 1/2 an hour sooner if i didn't have to inch through l.a. traffic at 4 p.m. but that's the price one pays for getting to see the flemish manucript show being assembled "backstage" at the getty (thanks, nicki!). and who knew the hills north of l.a. were -so- gorgeous? gilroy really does smell like garlic. and i nearly drove off the road when i saw the full moon over the san luis reservoir: homeless, homeless, moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake.

Thursday, June 12, 2003

 
6:02 PM: [#] [0]

aaaaaiiiieeeeee! tonight's feature presentation is entitled, "escape from san diego!" starring gretchin lair. they can't make me stay here an extra night. they can't!

scrambling to pack, no sleep, a flat tire, movers who are 7 hours late, a trip to the dealership for a new tire, scheduling then having to cancel cleaners, not being able to see jan, being too tired to even eat -- all this makes me more compelled than ever to leave southern california. tonight.

upstairs jennifer has been a literal lifesaver: who knows who would have been killed todayotherwise? i still have to wait for the packers to load the truck before i can clean up & blow this popscicle stand. i think this would be an excellent time to get some chili cheese fries. just don't expect anything coherent for a while. i'm so tired my tongue hurts.

Wednesday, June 11, 2003

 
4:02 PM: [#] [0]

i'm soooooo not ready to be packed, but in recompense, i got to finally see cindy after 9 years or so! cindy is the literal of the term "bright" -- she's so smart and "on" it's like she glows. i've done all the rest of my to-do's, as well, including shipping out more stuff due to people, paging getty special collection materials, and arranging cleaning services for tomorrow. everything except packing! by the time i get back from artist's way tonight, michael pointed out i'll have 12 hours before the movers come. hearing that is when i began to panic.

btw, michael says my moving song is "bring me back to life." it's a little less morbid than the lyrics & the title make it sound. think of portland as the place of my rebirth.

 
3:47 PM: [#] [0]

ack! blogger has a new interface! i so don't need that right now!

Tuesday, June 10, 2003

 
1:44 PM: [#] [0]

brian says he knows someone who "gets through each day with 'a mix of apathy, optimism, and denial.' " i've learned the apathy & denial parts; now i just have to get my optomism back.

 
1:34 PM: [#] [0]

oh, no. i discovered the loophole on the timing system at the libary: two, in fact. the first is that you reboot your computer, which doesn't always seem to launch the correct restrictions. the second is that you can use any appropriately high number that hasn't already been used to gain more time after your time is up.

and i am irritated by this guy next to me who feels compelled to watch the trailer for "bringing down the house" without headphones. grrrrrrrrrr.........

 
1:16 PM: [#] [0]

i asked john what he thought about the media deregulation fiasco, and he said he thought it went well: "There are just too many sources of information and ideally there should just be one, the Fox/Ministry of Truth." i'd say, "hee," but it just seems too damned depressing. because, you know, media deregulation has worked so well so far. can you say, "clearchannel"? :P i just read radiohead is boycotting all venues which have a clearchannel connection, so they're playing in some interesting, smaller places. it makes me want to buy their new album.

 
1:11 PM: [#] [0]

a string of less-than-stellar events, as related from the escondido public library:

* packing is lacking, to say the least. i'm worried about actually having it completed by the time the movers arrive thursday at 10 a.m.
* i tried to give terrilynn my digital camera last night, but the os 9 system is in some sort of perfect balance, and the addition of one more extension causes it to crash unmercifully upon startup. i got a good dinner out of it, but it was still 3.5 hours i wasn't packing.
* all the free cd requests were packed and shipped yesterday (do i hear a "finally!" out there? geesh). bills were paid.
* i'm not sure cindy & i are going to be able to hook up. along with my recent discomfort about hours away from packing time, we've been calling when the other isn't there and haven't been able to establish a time yet.
* i may have to call to cancel on carol & patty this afternoon.
* i took trixie in for her 30,000 mile checkup and it took over 2.5 hours to do (i was only expecting an hour).i'm hungry now and a little grumpy. while waiting, i watched an interview with david boreanaz, who said the biggest different between the sets of buffy & angel are the ceiling heights: buffy's are much lower than angel's. and apparently he has a bird phobia (specifically of chickens).

after this i'll stop by the gallery to pick up my 15 well-wrapped art pieces; then i have to return the card reader which caused terrilynn's poor system to choke, then home for substenance and the calling of peoples.

Monday, June 09, 2003

 
3:32 PM: [#] [0]

hey! what happened to my skydiving pix & movies? :(

 
2:58 PM: [#] [0]

my grandmother emailed me: she says my quasi-cousin jeff got kicked so hard by a horse he was hospitalized for two days! and her next eye appointment is june 23. and that phoenix is only a little hotter than portland at 104 degrees. it's nice to hear from her so close to the move: i haven't heard from my parents in over 3 months.

so far the plan is this:

thursday: movers come, cleaners come, i drop off an old royal typewriter and planter at dan's, i visit my friend jan in long beach, i stay with my quasi-cousin nicki that night.

friday-sunday: go to the getty for the last time, drive to san francisco to visit leeann & dean.

sunday-monday: visit ben.

tuesday-thursday: drive slowly up the coast to portland.

i'm a little hazy about when i'll actually see ben and for how long, and how long it will take along highway 101 to get to portland, so thursday may be a day or two off in either direction. at any rate, i hope to make it around the same time as the movers.

Saturday, June 07, 2003

 
3:19 PM: [#] [0]

apparently amelia survived the trip to portland just fine, and is warming up to michael much faster than she warmed up to me. :) i've packed almost 3 small boxes: whoo! the exhibit seemed a little off today, but i saw a lot of artist's way people and we went to a light lunch at 150 grand afterwards (i had always wanted to go there and i'm glad i got a chance! strawberry salad & lemon creme brulee. yum).
update: michael says, "get packing, young lady!"

Friday, June 06, 2003

 
1:36 PM: [#] [0]

items of interest from the escondido public library:

* i wasn't able to attend the "farewell to art museum tour & pajama party" because it conflicted with artist's way! doh!
* the smithsonian sent me an offer for a senior citizen discount. i didn't realize almost-30 qualified you for that.
* i finished flesh & spirit for the "outside the box" exhibit! i quite like it.
* amelia was shipped to portland today. in fact, she probably just got there about a half an hour ago. after an hour driving to the airport, i am glad i didn't try to take her with me for two days of driving. the airline made me buy one of their kennels, though. :P
* i went to ikea to pick up some frekvens for the new apartment. i'm good at ignoring the rest of ikea, but this time i picked up a set of knives. i'm not saying ikea knives are the best, but i can guarantee you they're better than the 4 randomly dull ones i currently have and hate to use. plus, they had colored transulcent handles, and you know i'm a sucker for that.
* i went to balboa park today. i did two rounds: one before the tourists arrived, and one after. i really will miss that park. i stumbled across and through the archery range and found a seashell the size of my hand layered in the ground, leaving a fossilized imprint beneath it. a black guy on a bike called me "sweetheart." at the reflecting pool, i played tori's "take to the sky" on repeat. the gold koi get all the attention, but there was one which was my favorite color of twilight. it rained a little, too, but the drops just popped and evaporated, like champagne bubbles bursting against my skin.

today i'll finally begin packing now that i don't have any other major projects left.

Tuesday, June 03, 2003

 
3:59 PM: [#] [0]

rob always says what i want to say but in a funnier, more poignant way.

Monday, June 02, 2003

 
3:08 PM: [#] [0]

several very large pictures becky took of us when we went to killer pizza from mars are now available. due to limited facilities, there is no quality control whatsoever, so view at your own risk -- but you could spare yourself a lot of backlit and cheesy-pose pain by just skipping immediately to the last one. :)

 
2:55 PM: [#] [0]

am i the only person on the vista library computers who cares that there's a line? the people around me were here when i got here but show no signs of leaving. :(

Sunday, June 01, 2003

 
4:48 PM: [#] [0]

i finally got around to reading the nytimes article about how apple restricted use of its rendezvous sharing feature in the new version of itunes because some hackers had figured out how to download the music instead of just streaming it. i think this places apple in a bad precedent of "fixing" its software whenever a new "hack" is discovered, and a new hack will always be discovered! it places itunes in the same category as security patches -- but this time the patch is not to protect the consumer of the software, which i think is a first.

 
4:34 PM: [#] [0]

more items of interest from the carlsbad city library:

* i dropped off michael's prints at the gallery, but brian spent a lot of time chatting with another customer so that when he got to me, i had to go take amelia to the vet. i'll go back tuesday if the "farewell to art museum tour & pajama party" falls through.
* amelia wasn't very happy about the vet, but she recovered quickly. she was pronounced healthy, given 2 vaccinations and some sedatives, and will be shipped to michael on friday.
* dan came to visit last night and we caught the last showing of the matrix reloaded, which was good but didn't instill in me the same need to re-see it several times the way the first one did.thanks to michael's advice, we stayed through the credits and the 3 very loud songs to see the trailer for the matrix revolutions. there seems to be a shortage of ecto singers for cyberpunk movies. ;)
* brian's interview has been postponed till wednesday. *keeps fingers crossed*

after the library i'm off for a massage with gerrie. *sighs blissfully*