Goals Meeting '08

I've been on the East Coast for 9 days and am ready to head back to Seattle. It's been a very fulfilling trip. I pretty much toured the Northeast- NY, CT, MA, and VT. Some highlights:

Making pigs in a blanket for Ashley and Jeff's cocktail party. I think pigs in a diaper is a better name. That's what it seems like wrapping all those weenies in little crescent rolls.

Watching Patriots Tom Brady and Laurence Maroney play against the NY Giants at a random NYC bar. They be lookin good.

A loud black dude was whistling at me and Ashley during our run, saying "What? You're prejudiced? Once you go black you can never go back". Ashley replied "I'll take a guy with a smaller dick and a bigger brain any day".

Winning a contest at my family's Christmas gathering. I was voted in as co-questioner; my cousin Ryan and I will carry the torch from my uncle Kevin. Kevin started the tradition 10 years ago of asking a thought-provoking question each Christmas day with the intention of getting to know each other a little better. We all take our turns answering and the person with the best answer wins a coffee table book. It's usually an emotional affair; someone's response brings the house down. There's about 25 people in my family so I feel pretty honored.

Skiing at Mt Snow with my parents and some family. The sun was shining, there were hardly any crowds and we got a bunch of runs in. My dad is a sick skier, so following him inspires me. We brought leftover food from Christmas and ate at a picnic table by the lodge. We covertly drank our beers out of mitten coozies.

Maximum QT with my mom. We ran together, drove to Plymouth to look at venues for my cousin's wedding, and navigated the ridiculousness that is driving into Times Square a few days before New Years. What were we thinking??

Being asked to be my best friend/cousin's maid of honor.

My sister and I are gonna go eat Australian food, whatever that is, in Williamsburg. Then we have a Goals Meeting '08. As the title would suggest, we're talking about some goals for the year. Here's a few of mine:

Redesign website.
Cook a good dinner at least 2 nights a week.
Travel abroad (to Europe and/or Japan).
Frame 8 silkscreen posters and organize a show.
Do not drink and email.
Bike instead of drive when the weather is nice.
Avoid taking money out of savings.

Goodbye '07, it's been real!

Burgled!

My apartment got burglarized last week. I came home from a long work day to find my front door unlocked, bootprints on my kitchen table, and my computer swiped (RIP G4, it's been real). You have to walk up a flight of stairs to get to my apartment, but Seattle is so hilly (San Fran's stepbrother), that my unit in the back is essentially on the ground floor. They came in through my kitchen window, which I'd left slightly ajar. I've lived there a year and felt comfortable enough to crack the window for circulation.

It sucks. Nothing was backed up. They also stole a blanket that my Grandma had given me, which had a lot of personal value. I have renter's insurance. Best case scenario is they reimburse me for some of the laptop's value. We'll see though.

In similar bad news, I got ready for my company's much-anticipated holiday party on Saturday night and picked up some friends when the gas light came on. I pulled into the Shell station and pumped the tank, not even to the brim. When I took the nozzle out, gas continued to pour with vigor, splashing onto the ground with such force that it ricocheted back onto me and my new party dress, etc. A man ran to my rescue and ripped the nozzle out of my hands. We both agreed we'd never seen anything like it. My friends and I pretty much got high of the fumes on the way back to my house.

But, all is well. In general I'm a very lucky person, and I think shit like this has to happen once in a while to even out the fortune. By the way, I really like my boyfriend. Here's a photo of us from the party.

Step into my office, baby.

I made my holiday cards today, finally. (Not shown here, so I can surprise my friends). I love when the studio is empty; I get this monstrous, industrial space to listen to the radio and act like a one-woman production line. You'd be lucky to find a space like this in NYC. When I was printing at School of Visual Arts, it was each man for himself in a constrained space. I had to practically sign up for every god-forsaken step of the printmaking process, edging out the Bklyn hipsters printing ironic tote-bags. I was at Pratt alone today and got stuff done.

When I went to the main building I ran into a dude that was in my class. He asked if I showed my work, and mentioned that we should do a joint show. I said, no, all my artwork is under my bed, but I would love to show. His stuff is pretty rad; I was flattered. Thanks Kaleb. The biggest hurdle is framing 8 or 10 pieces. Shit ain't cheap! But it is a personal and realistic goal. There are a million coffee shops here. Many are aching for some original Chez Moni artwork...

Never been lonely, never been lied to.

This Thanksgiving weekend started off with a whimper. Cancelled plans left me staring down the prospect of Thanksgiving Eve by myself. Seattle was unseasonably cold on Wednesday, and when my boss excused us early, I bolted onto the wind-blown streets of downtown. I didn't have a plan but the air was so frigid that I ducked into a clothing store and bought a Spiewak jacket (originally sewn for the dockworkers of Red Hook). I roamed around until two co-workers returned my call for happy hour. I was saved from the evils of going home alone on TE!

After two glasses of celebratory wine (4 days off!), my friends had to depart their family-related ways. I jumped onto the bus and bumped into my totally cute barista, Addie (non-sexual crush). She invited me to stich n' bitch at Laurie's (fellow cutie barista). I went, it was good times.

Thanksgiving day was excellent. I ran in the Tacoma Turkey Trot- a 5k- with two friends. I drove Aunty Em and on the way back, I somehow veered off of I-5. We found ourselves on some single-lane road in the mountains. We must've been deep in conversation, 'cause no one noticed we weren't in Kansas anymore. We righted our way, thanks to my trusty atlas in the back seat.

I spent dinner with a motley crew of Sean's friends, many of whom are from Georgia. There was a ridiculous amount of southern food.

Although there's been some good get-togethers this weekend, I can't help but feel like Thanksgiving weekend is awfully long on this coast. This year is better than last- the weather is sunny and cold, as opposed to last year's grey and freezing rain, I have a car, a dude, I enjoy my apartment, I adore my friends. Still, it feels like a monstrous effort to fill 4 days with social activities. I don't know why I'm so scared to be alone this weekend, but I am. How many times can I go to the gym/get coffee/edit a mix tape?

Today I'll go to the studio. I'm lacking a good idea for Christmas cards. I have some other poster projects I could work on though. I'm seriously looking forward to going back to work tomorrow...I know how that sounds.

Moms: best invention ever.

I called my Mom last week, frantic with a personal health issue. She pointed out that I'd called her a few years ago with the same paranoia, and I said, "No, I used to be anxious about my teeth". She disagreed and reminded me that I freaked out about the same (fake?) ailment once when I lived in NY. Then I vaguely remembered and felt better, because it had been a false alarm.

On Friday I had two of my friends over for dinner and raced home from work to make my award-winning chicken lasagna (maybe not official awards but definitely praise). I forgot if I should put foil on the pan before baking, so I called my Mom and she affirmed, yes, foil till it's nearly done, then broil. Foil, broil. Check. She was having a dinner party too, with all her ladeez. They were three hours drunker than I was and were chiming in the background, "Shawna! We miss you!".
I miss them too. My Mom had also dressed up my Kewpie doll in her fiesta dress for her party.

Moms tend to be excellent for this sort of thing: health issues, cooking questions. But there are so many other things I feel like only a mother can solve, ease, or cure. I'm really lucky that I have a Mom, and a stellar one at that.

So to dovetail with a deep appreciation of my Mom, I finished watching Six Feet Under today. Holy crap. It was an epic effort. It took me 6 months to watch the whole series. I grew to love the Fisher family and felt particularly close to them. It was the first show I ever watched from beginning to end, so the first time I firmly grasped the characters and their relationships. Ruth Fisher dude. I love how Claire matured, and how she sprung out of the whole angsty-artist bitch role. My sister treated my mom similar to how Claire treated Ruth, when she was in high school. Luckily, my mom and sister are close, respectful and really like each other now. Ruth and Claire's relationship at the end is awesome.

Cheers to Moms!

Schooner of Porter

Yesterday I was the chair for the office meeting, which is not a big deal for most. It's wierd; during Beer Friday (an hour at the end of the week devoted to beer, snacks, and socializing in the name of employee sanity and brotherhood), I am my usual social self. But at our monthly meetings I get a pit in my stomach as we go around the room and briefly describe our current projects. It is a deep, ridiculous fear of being the center of attention. Even at something as mundane as an office meeting.

Anyway, I volunteered to host it and, in a moment of bravery, to do a project presentation. These are few and far between, but I'm hot off the trail of a cool marina planning project in Anacortes. It's a seaside town that, believe it or not, I think I have a crush on. This presentation was hanging over my head for 5 weeks so I started working on it the day before. My PowerPoint skills are sharp but my presentation skills are green. But as a planner, I absolutely have to refine them.

The presentation went as well as I hoped. I felt like I applied my self and sense of humor to it, and kept it informative, light, and to the point. Glad that's over! I felt high on life afterwards. Like, when can I present again?

I'm loving my job. Today we took a ferry to a nearby island, met with our Navy contact, got badges for Navy base access and had lunch at a brewery. I had a schooner of porter. Tasted like dessert. After returning to the office, I wrote part of a proposal and tomorrow I'll do its document layout and pull graphics together. I love that shit!

Missing class and Feist

I opted out of class tonight for the sake of my mental health. I haven't had a free moment since I got back from Erin's wedding in Charlottesville, VA. I've been trying to keep some order in my apartment but it's been pretty disgusting, I haven't unpacked my bags yet, and my cupboards were bare. I also felt like I hadn't worked out since the Clinton administration so I went to the gym, which is cheap but a hole, and came home to clean and do laundry.

I used to love the smell of Clorox bleach. Something about the antiseptic and clean smell was comforting. Ever since I went "shopping" at the free pile in my building's laundry room and found a bottle of Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day countertop spray, I've been all about that organic gardenia scent. OMG I really am turning into a Seattleite. I gotta get rid of the Clorox, because now I just feel the fumes choking my virgin lungs.

Feist is playing at the Paramount tonight (a very old, very beautiful theater). I am obviously not there, despite my love for her.

Erin's wedding was this past weekend. As my friends can attest my digital camera is large and I have to warm it up before it does its thing. Henceforth, my photos are crappy, but I do recommend Jay and Maegen's. They were taken with a camera built in this century. The wedding was a blast, the weather was warm, dry and sunny, and I got to spend time with my old friends. And historic downtown C'ville is pretty cool. After my trip down south I stopped in NYC and met my family. We did our annual krazy Kristmas photoshoot (thanks Jeff!). But I'm sworn to secrecy as to what the theme is. I will say that we were foiled by the NYC marathon. Fun times all around.

Marge Gunderson

The Halloween party I went to was awesome. About half the people knew who I was dressed as. Some asked if my pregnant belly was real, although these pics don't do it justice. Everyone was in costume, most people danced, and only a few cheesy French maids. My date is a fat PE teacher. I met a girl (a friend of my dude) who's from Berlin, CT and has family that lives on my street in WeHa. Crazy!

message to love

I'm aglow because I met someone great. We've been hanging two nights a week- Saturday and Thursday 'cause those seem to be the days that work. It's really fun. The Thursdays go by so quickly, but we only have one full day to wait. I'm using restraint here because it's all so new but I'm really happy about it.

I've been working on a mix for Erin's wedding. She asked me to make some dance-party playlists for lack of Awesome Audio. It's still in progress but is shaping up nicely. Got some new music (Nico Vega, Mint Royale) mixed in with old (Whitney, Paul Simon). I might have to make two volumes...it depends on how passionately I edit. I've been cleaning my closet and I keep stopping to dance. I'm so excited to see Erin and my friends from WeHa next week.!

When I see people reading books like the Lovely Bones (bo-ring!), Cavalier and Clay, or Life of Pi I think of the moment in time that the book, being on New York Times Best Sellers list, populated NYC subways. Which makes me not want to read them. But I picked up Life of Pi at the library and I'm devouring it on my bus. It's a combo of Hatchet and Ishmael, two other books I really enjoyed (I read Hatchet in 4th grade and Ishmael in high school Humanities).

Well, kiddies, have you heard 'Brandy Alexander' by Feist? You should.

dudes, cake.

Yesterday I celebrated my 27th birthday with all the trimmins. There was carrot cake at work (at 10:30 am. Wait, who planned this?), cards, flowers from my friend Dara, packages in the mail, phone calls, emails, then dinner with 10 of my best friends (out here!). Even the weather broke; it was warm and sunny which is rare for this time of year.

I felt really lucky. Last year I spent my day with 3 or 4 friends, and only one of them is still around. It just warmed my heart to look around the table and see all these people that I'm close with and wanted to be there! The food was delicious, as was the wine, which did some damage to our bill. Oops! I felt so bad afterwards. I hate to be that guy (come to my birthday, I'll order all the food- it was family-style with a predetermined menu-, and shell out $50 each)...but it's over now. The quote I got over the phone obviously assumed we'd be drinking apple juice. I will treat my friends in some other way. Later, my friend and I held hands and walked to my neighborhood dive bar.

I feel really good about 27. Oddly I always thought I'd get married when I was 27. That might be a while.

Class tonight! I finished a piece for a friend and also one for myself. I'm really pysched about them both. My peers all gathered 'round and said, "Whoa". My teacher loved it, and I love her (maybe not love-love, just really like and admire), so I gave her a print. She said it'd live a long life. I'll post it up here after I take it to Kinko's for the big ol' flatbed scanner.

Halloween's around the corner. I'm gonna be Marge Gunderson from Fargo. Oh geez, I think I'm gonna barf.

Shawna vs. Kiki

Here's something I did one Saturday afternoon, using a silkscreen and a stencil. It was quick and fun to make. You know about me and Kiki right??

Entourage, but not the show

There are these awesome files at work in a binder called "Entourage". Entourage is a collection of illustrations of people doing stuff (picnicking, riding bikes, walking dogs, window-shopping). Back in the day urban planners would trace these drawings for their renderings of street scenes, plazas, etc. I'm sure there's an Entourage of today (you know with like, fixed gear bikes and girls in leggins talking on Chocolate cell phones). But we only have files from the 80s, which leaves me with tons of material for my artwork and general merriment. Here's some of the latest.

my country according to me

My sense of place is shaped by where I've been and if I know people who live there. Middle America? Texas!? Might as well be a big bowl of oatmeal for all I'm concerned! Arkansas? I think of bears and libraries. (Isn't there a library there named after Bill Clinton?)

Nutmeggers

My Memere sent me a letter with an update of her life in elderly care. She loves her apartment and the friends she's meeting at social events. She also sent me a leaf, already turned red. That's awesome. Aunt Kitty and Uncle Steve are in Seattle for a long weekend. We've had awesome weather and I've been taking them to the best eateries and drinkeries. I think we've all been impressed so far. Tomorrow it's wineries and the Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville. All my guest have a straight up gastronomic tour of the NW. Consider yourself invited.

sink or swim

I had silkscreen class tonight, and I'm working on a project for a friend. I take the class for a sense of structure, not so much instruction. I just wasn't making much art on my own accord. I love my instructor; I worked with her last fall, too. She looks just like Neko Case.

I've been thinking about the East Coast. I miss it, and I miss my peeps. Maybe the Seattle greyness is sinking in and I'm staring at the prospect of another long, drizzly winter, as a single gal (that's a West Coast word). I feel like I can't put my roots down here, because there's no sense of permanence. I just don't consider being "away" for very long. My job is awesome, and the more time I invest in it the better off I am.

But, I think about where I want to move to next. At 26, I'm not too thrilled about starting from scratch again- learning a bus route, forging a new social network, etc. So far, I'm considering Boston, Philly, Portsmouth (NH), maybe Bklyn but I doubt it, Burlington, and Providence. Obviously I'm painting a broad stroke, and really don't even want to think about looking for a job again, 'cause it sucks!! My goal here has always been two years, and that fluctuates both ways depending on the weather and my state of mind. In the summer, I feel like I can stay for 3 years. (I've been here since June '06).

I hate that I view my whole life as a ticking clock with events to check off and time periods to fulfill.