33...

tomorrow i will be.  it feels like yesterday i started making the choices that have drastically altered the rest of my life, and i wish i could change a few of my past decisions sometimes, but, well, i can't.  however, it's never too late for a second chance, right?  tomorrow i will start over, once again, with the rest of my life.  cheers...

20-years-old and so carefree

1996

has anybody seen fall?

ugh.  i know i've completely exhausted most of my friends, and addam, with my incessant whining about how much i hate the heat in tucson, but how can anybody truly enjoy life without seeing the seasons?  in my opinion, fall and spring are the two best seasons and they absolutely do not exist here.  not.  what.  so.  ever.  ok, maybe there is a "spring"-like season, but that is what people typically call winter in other parts of the country that are blessed with four definitive seasons.  i have to say that "spring" here is just not the same when it's not preceded by an actual cold season, aka WINTER.  our 6-month "spring" is, however, followed by 6-months of hell, and consistently alternates between the two year after year.  so i suppose that it's winter, along with fall, that doesn't really exist here in the season stagnant southwest.  get it?  either way, it's just not right.


i want to wear sweaters, and hats, and scarves, and gloves.  through crisp, fall air, i want to smell the lingering smoke from the wood burning in people's fireplaces.  i want to see the fantastical hues of the changing leaves, and then to hear the reluctant crunching under my feet as i walk upon them after they fall.  i want to see the winsome stains that the leaves imprint on the sidewalk after they have been exposed to the elements.  i want to ride my bike through the city and see people chatting over warm beverages, their breath visible in the early evening air.  dammit, i just want to ride my bike, but it's been too miserably hot for months!  i want all of these things that symbolize the changing of a season, but this will be my 2nd anti-fall here in this seemingly unchanging desert.  someday, fall, our paths will cross again.  *sigh*

a photo that i took during the last fall i had the pleasure of experiencing

regret and pizza

I was remembering today how I could just walk out my front door in Seattle and run into good friends, eat good food, and just enjoy my lush, green surroundings.  I'm afraid that I may have taken this luxury for granted the last couple years I lived there, and I just wanted to take a moment to admit the perpetual regret that I feel.

I miss being able to walk 2 blocks and have the best ethiopian food in town. Okay, so the sanitary nature of these places may have been questionable, but damn those vegetarian platters were good!  They were also big enough that they were often shared with a good pal while we drank ethiopian beer, listened to ethiopian music, and talked about random nonsense.  What I wouldn't give to walk out my front door right now and stroll into Mesob for some tasty grub, and a frosty mug.

A few more blocks down the street was Piecora's New York Pizza.  I worked at Piecora's several years ago while I was in school, and I had the pleasure of working with some of the most kick-ass, hilarious people.  Jae, Mayson, Aron, Lafter, Doug, Jon, Jen...you know who you are.  Ritchie Piecora, our boss, was obsessed with windex. Remember the dad from the movie My Greek Wedding who thought that windex could actually heal wounds?  'Nuff said.  Anyhow, I only worked there about a year, but I lived down the street in the same 4-plex apartment building for 11 years.  I would often walk down the street with my dogs to nab a free slice through the window by the kitchen, and maybe even a nugget of sausage for the dogs if they were lucky.  I can't even fathom how many free slices of pie were passed through that window to sustain my broke ass, but I'm still thankful to this day.

Kitty corner to Piecora's, across the Bank of America parking lot, is the Elysian brewery.  I worked there too.  In fact, I ran over there for my interview DURING a shift at Piecora's.  I used to love sitting at the bar eating a fieldroast philly cheesesteak sandwich, sipping on a strong ale, and chatting with the regulars and friends that were so frequently seated around the long familiar bar.  The Elysian was so different back then compared to now.  This must have been somewhere around 1997, 98...?  Everybody was a regular, even the employees.  Everybody was friendly.  Henry, Eric, Hazel, and even you Dick (one of the owners), I miss your faces, and I miss your conversation.

The Teapot, Than Brothers Pho, Jamjuree, Chutneys, The Ballet, the mexican place upstairs in the Broadway alley building, Glos, The Tamarind Tree, The Green Leaf, Cafe Presse, and Saigon Deli. These were some of the other restaurants within short walking distance from my house which I frequented throughout my 13 years in Seattle.  Sure, there are a lot more, but these are the ones that stand out the most because I went to them regularly.  I could list some of the more extravagant, less-frequented venues, but my mouth would start watering and my mind would take a stroll down depression lane due to the deprivation of such ammenities in my current culinary-anorexic city.  It really kills me that I can honestly only name one restaurant within walking distance to where I live now that I even want to eat at, let alone walk to in this scorching inferno that is my temporary home.  Depressing.  I have placed such great emphasis on the food, but what I miss even more are the people.  Malari, Rick, Lyn, Jim, Flora, Mel, Mac, Melanie, Debbie, Kate, Joe W., Joe A., Emily, Raine, Becca, Rob, Jon, Ang, Julie, Steph, Isaac, Carmen, Will, Mike, Chris, Jeff and so many more.

I haven't even mentioned the multiple bars, and show venues that were also within walking distance of my humble abode on first hill, but that reminiscing is for another day.

Oh, Seattle.  You are like an ex-lover whom I got in a huge fight with over something I can't even remember now.  I'm sorry we broke up.  I'm sorry I'm too proud to get back together with you.  Maybe I'll get over it someday, especially since you clearly have . 

Taken on the steps of my old apartment building where I lived for 11 of my 13 years in Seattle. Apparently, I was taking the photo since I am not in it. 

circa ~1999

DIY drinking glasses

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/how-to/how-to-make-your-own-glasses-from-bottles-094915

a friend of mine tried this once with little success, but i'm sure it just takes the proper tools to accomplish the task at hand.  i'm definitely gonna try it out one of these days...

more cheap art

another great site to score cheap art from:
derekerdman.com 


a lot of his paintings are on thick wood block which makes them ready to hang right when you get 'em.

paco collars rule

if you want a pet collar that will last your furry loved one for a lifetime...

go PACO.  they really are the best!  plus, the woman that started the company, ana, is pretty amazing herself.  you can check out her blog at http://anapoeland.blogspot.com/

pacocollars.com 

    

     lola looking like a badass in her PACO collar.

     face it, you need all the help you can get when you weigh 5.5#

 

    olive can't wait for hers...

  

art=happy

I started buying art in my early 20's when I had even less money than I have now.  I was always on the search for that sweet something within my limited budget (who am I kidding, I will forever pounce on a good deal).  If it was something that I couldn't make a knock-off of, then I would happily shell out my hard earned cash so I could support an artist and acquire an original piece of awesomeness.  I was fortunate enough to have jumped on the low brow train early enough that I actually purchased a couple really amazing things that are now worth some bucks including some limited edition Mark Ryden goodies.  So kids, the lesson today is that it's okay to indulge yourself once in awhile, especially if you obtain something timeless like a piece of art that you are likely to cherish for years to come, or even sell later in life for a pretty penny when you have so much of the stuff you just don't know what else to do with it...or not.  Wish I could say the same for some of the clothes I spent too much money on throughout the years...ugh.

Below is a giclée print by Glenn Barr called  Three Angels & Jesus Too.  I purchased this signed and numbered print about 8 years ago for around $50.  It now sells for around $125.  Not a huge hike, but still a good investment if I ever get tired of it and decide to sell it.

This is a great example of some fun "cheap" art which is sold framed for $30 at thebazaarium.com 

here i am...

well, i've been telling myself that i was going to start a blog for so long now that i finally realized that i am starting to feel incredibly lazy for just not doing so.  it really wasn't all that difficult for me to sit down and get the thing set up, but there were other aspects that posed to be complicated.  i notice that a lot of people blog about one thing in particular that they seem to have an intense affinity towards.  there are also those who incessantly ramble about their own personal lives, keeping a record of their daily events no matter how monotonous they may seem to the outside world.  i have respect for most of these various types of "bloggers" purely based on the fact that, well, dammit they are doing it, and i want to be doing it too.  i am so inspired, and often touched by many of the creative and personal blogs that i follow regularly.  however, this is where i ran into a wall.  what the hell am i gonna blog about?  the thought of exposing myself to strangers who i really am, and what i like and dislike is actually a bit intimidating for some reason.  my interests and activities vary such that i did not want to limit myself to just one subject i love such as art, or fashion, or crafting, or metal smithing, or design, or food.  nor did i want it to be just a personal chronicle of my typically boring life.  i want to share things that fascinate me, that make me think, that i find unique or beautiful, that make me laugh, and occasionally i suppose i will also talk about my life.  it all started with a craving for an outlet, and this is how the grey gospel has emerged.


yes, that's me on the left sitting on my beloved old motorcycle that i miss terribly.  no, it is not my real hair, but it was the first day that ridiculous blond wig made it's debut in a long string of memorable photographs...more to come.