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I decided to join the cool kids and start a tumblr. Don't worry blogger, I will probably still use you... occasionally.

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New Crafting/Art/Music Room

So, I recently moved to a new place of residence. One of the best parts about the new place, other than cheaper rent, is that I have a permanent craft room! Well, as permanent as you can get when you're renting. So, semi-permanently permanent? At my former house, I had a craft room some of the time--in the "spare" room upstairs in between roommates living there. Most of the time, I just had to use the kitchen table. This house (actually, it's a duplex) is great because it's a three bedroom that's affordable for just two of us.

Anyway, on to the photos.

Shot upon entering the room. The underwater scene is actually a shower curtain. I love how colorful it makes the room.

 The sewing table all folded up. Formerly my grandmother's. I need to find somewhere to put my ukulele. I also need to put more decorations around/above my Zen Cat calendar. Like I said, my move was recent. This is still a work in progress.

 The sewing table, opened. The machine is under the white cover thingy. The top of the table also flips open. I recently acquired the machine from my grandmother as well. I'll have to take more photos of it another time. It's been hardly used, and I don't really know how to work all its fancy features yet. It's also a few decades newer than my previous machine. Movin' UP.

The computer desk I am sitting at this very moment. Above it, Tom Encounters a Tesseract.

 Once again, the pseudo-mural shower curtain.

 My record player and Table for Miscellaneous Creations (TMC). My landlord left the TMC at the house for me with my crafting in mind. Aww. I put my painted Bean shirt on the half mannequin... it adds a nice touch. Also because I'm a crazy cat lady. A crazy cat lady who is posting pictures of her craft room. Yep.

In the pink bin under the turntable are some music supplies. I have a USB microphone, headphones, and a random assortment of sheet music. I've want to get back into writing/covering music and doing crappy home recordings like this one I did several months ago. I don't care if I'm not the best, doing it makes me happy. My drum kit is at my friend's house where we have band practice, but perhaps I'll have to take my microphone over there and record some beats on the next song I do.

 Dia de los Muertos-inspired painting in the corner.

 My easel! Did I mention that Tom Lewis is the best? He built it for me. I put down a heavy duty tarp so I don't have to worry so much about getting paint on the floor (it tends to happen with me... a lot).

 Party Hat Party Cat watercolor on the closet door. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with the mirror next to it. It also needs a home.

Closet where I can store finished projects, mailing supplies, old art, and all of my vintage clothing I sell/hoard.

 

Happy to start crafting/arting/musicing again! It's such a relief to have everything mostly in place. I've had a mass of creative urges lately that I've had to suppress thanks to finding somewhere to live/packing/moving/unpacking the last few weeks. Today I finished unpacking the rest of the house, so that's even more of a relief. 

Stay tuned for the next blog episode; I will have to post pictures of the rest of the house!

Bike Trail Blunders and Happenings

Photo via planetsave.com

 One of the things I do love about Omaha is its bike trails. I started frequenting them regularly last summer, when I realized I could get to the Keystone Trail just by riding a couple of blocks straight down the street from where I live. So, for about two warm seasons, I've probably gone bike trail-riding at least a hundred times. And I've certainly gotten the full bike trail experience, you could say.

That being said, the bike trails are a funny place. I've mostly stuck with the Keystone Trail and Bellevue Loop because they're in my vicinity, but a few times I've ventured onto the Papio trails. Oh, and Zorinsky Lake, if that counts. I used to go there all the time when I lived out west. Pretty much all my interesting happenings have been on the Keystone Trail, maybe because I've been on that one the most, or maybe because it's a more thriving hub. Who knows.

Anyhow, as I was saying, the bike trails are odd. Odd because there seems to be a different mentality there than in the rest of the the city. You wouldn't say "hi" to a random person at the mall, would you? Well, on the bike trail you would. There must be some strange underlying community between people bicycling, walking, jogging, and rollerblading. I know it's the Friendly Midwest and all, but people don't usually act this nice in the rest of the city. At least not where I live. It still weirds me out, to tell you the truth. I get caught off guard even now when some old couple smiles and say, "Good morning!!!" even though it's happened a million times.

Mind you, I am not bothered by this friendliness, even if it weirds me out. It's quite refreshing, actually. I feel like I'm in some cheesy 1950s sitcom, and should have streamers and a basket on my bike with Lawrence Welk-ish music playing in the background. Every time I pass someone, I'd ring my bell, and put on a shit-eating grin and say, "How ya doin' Miss Walters?!" and "Howdy Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, how are the kiddos?!" and "It's a fine day in the neighborhood, eh, little Billy?!"

I know I'm not the most intimidating character, or really even intimidating at all, so I can see how people aren't scared to approach me. It probably doesn't help that I ride a 1980s purple-white-and-baby-blue teeny bopper bicycle, either. It probably also doesn't help that I'm usually wearing sunglasses when I'm riding, so people can't detect my usual angst and distrust of humanity in my eyes. Or any of my I'm-gonna-cut-you stares.

While there is certainly a Leave it to Beaver vibe going on most of the time, there are a number of other kinds of encounters I've experienced on the the bike trail. Some of them aren't exactly extraordinary, but I found them amusing, and thought they should be shared.

For example, just yesterday:

-An older man probably in his 50s or 60s was walking towards me on the other side of the trail, and as I passed by him, he held out his hand for a high five. I declined and kept riding. He could have just masturbated with that hand. Or spit on it, like the kids on my brother's soccer team would do when they had to shake hands at the end of a game. You don't know.

-There was a balding man with a mustache, wearing only jean shorts and sneakers, casually walking down the trail. This is not so odd in itself, but that he looked JUST like Tobias from Arrested Development. I think I may have witnessed a true-to-life Never Nude yesterday.

-A man who appeared to be in his late 20s or so was riding a bike with one of those baby carriages attached, with a kid who looked to be about two in the back. Not odd at all, except that this dude was DRINKING A BEER while he was riding. It was a Blue Moon, I was close enough to see the label. Now, I am not so much against drinking and bicycling, as it's pretty hard to hurt someone else besides oneself when doing so. Except, maybe if the someone else is ATTACHED TO YOUR BICYCLE. And too young to know his daddy is a douche. WTF, dude.

And that was just yesterday.

Other encounters:

-There is a sign near a railroad track where the bike trail is on the underpass of the tracks. There is sign that reads: CAUTION: FALLING DEBRIS TUNA. Yes, someone crossed out "debris" and wrote "tuna."

-There was a man riding a bicycle who kept speeding up and slowing down. He would seemingly pedal as fast as he could, then slow down dramatically. So, I think he passed me and I passed him like six times or so each. It was starting to creep me out, especially because he seemed to be talking to himself. It was even creepier that when I had ridden as far south as I desired and headed north, he did the same. I even stopped to get out my pepper spray in case I was indeed being stalked. Well, the pepper spray thankfully did not get used. We reached the point on the trail that's near a shooting range. He was behind me at this point, when he sped up again so that he was riding right next to me.
"Does it ever freak you out that there's a shooting range across the trail?" he asked.
"Yes. Yes it does," I said in my most sarcastic, leave-me-the-fuck-alone tone of voice. A Daria-like tone of voice, if you will.
"Aim low, my friends. I just hope they aim low." And then he sped up and rode away, and did not slow down again, so that was the last I saw of him.

-One day, I spotted someone on the side of the trail near a field. I figured they were probably resting or talking on their phone or something. It turns out it was this old hippie-looking guy who frequents the trail quite often. I remembered him because of his long, snow white beard. You can't just forget a beard like that. Anyway, he had a tripod and was taking pictures of the field. At first, I thought he was taking pictures of just the grass. Crazy hippies. But as I looked closer into the field, I saw a doe and two baby deer! It made me really happy. I'm glad this dude was there, because otherwise I wouldn't even have noticed the surrounding wildlife. A few days later when I rode past the same spot, the deer were there again! Thank you, Hippie Man, I will be forever grateful.

-Speaking of deer, one morning, probably around 10am or so, there was a deer just standing in the middle of the trail. It didn't move, so I thought I might have to ride around it. However, it did prance off merrily into the cornfield so I didn't have to dodge it. Another time, I had to dodge a suicidal mole rat that ran out in front of my bike. Luckily, he also avoided a doomed fate.

-It was mid-afternoon on a Sunday, and for a split second I thought I had encountered the living dead. A bedraggled, limping man with torn clothing was walking in the middle of the trail. Yes, he looked incredibly like a zombie, but without any noticeable bloodstains. Then I realized he was probably homeless. Accompanying him were two short Hispanic men... doing flips on the trail. I don't know if they were acrobats or what, but these dudes were talented. How these three eccentric men were associated with one another, I will forever wonder and never know. Furthermore, they were walking dead center in the trail, and didn't move when I neared them. I had to veer off into the grass to go around them. Homeless-looking-zombie-man did not seem very cognizant, so I suppose it's forgivable. But I think the acrobats were just being jerks. This occurrence seemed so surreal, part of me thinks I imagined it.


So, that's all I can think of right now, though I am sure there will be more experiences in the future. I am going on another bike ride today, after all. If anyone would like to share with me their bike trail happenings, I would really love to hear them. Please share.

Another Year

Me: I don't like getting older.
Tom: So don't.

Wise words from a wise man who still acts like a child. Haha. I've always been a fan of: Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.


Well, those are words I certainly do embrace. I'm not careless like I was when I was 18, but no way soon am I going to stop playing in rainstorms and putting purple streaks in my hair. I think for me there's a peacefulness that comes with knowing better, but still not knowing what the future will bring.

 

I took that photo yesterday, wearing my rad superhero shirt (the picture doesn't do it justice). It's funny that after 7 years of dyeing my hair a rainbow of colors and cutting it frequently, I now have the same hair as when I was in high school. Maybe that's why when I was out and about in Kearney last week with my mom, two different people asked if I was in high school. Haha, doubt it. That was probably due to the slight lisp and inherent awkwardness :)

On the topic of staying young, I got this shirt at a house show I ended up because of a very random situation. During band practice Thursday, a band from San Francisco showed up at Nick's house. They were looking for a house show on a corner lot, and heard the music coming from the house. Turns out said house show was at a mutual friend's house (Omaha is tiny like that), also on a corner lot, but several blocks away. Anyway, we ended up going the house show later that night, and I decided their t-shirt was a necessary purchase.

Yes, the purchase may have been slightly influenced by alcohol. But it's a stripper puppy! What's not to love?! Also, the band was excellent.

Tonight Andrew and I are having a joint birthday dance party like we did last year. But this time I hung up a bunch of my paintings all over the house (hence the photo of Lyle snoozing in front of the good luck kittehs). I'm offering them for sale, more so I don't have to haul so much when we move in two weeks. That's why I'm selling them for cheap. Monies would be an added bonus right now, since I'm currently not employed by the Man, but making room is probably more important to me than that right now. I have way too much junk. Particularly art junk.

Speaking of art sales, I had five MAGIC by Anna Panda sales this week. Whoa! Once I get all settled from moving, I really want to make more bags and paint more. I'm itching for it so badly. I have to stop myself to be productive on issues that are more pressing. It feels good to have ideas and motivation though, that's for sure. I think a change of scenery will be for the best as well.

Anyhow, that was a random post.

I'll be 24 in less than 12 hours. Weird.

Ponyboy in His Element

I took these Ponyboy photos on Memorial Day weekend, and forgot to post them anywhere. So here they are a few months later.

These were all taken in the heart of rural America, where Ponyboy feels most comfortable. The bar photos were taken in Elba, NE population approx. 200. The rest were taken on family land near the North Loup River. Ponyboy was certainly in his element.

Summertime and the Livin' is Easy

Every summer is like an on-again-off-again relationship for me. About a month into the warmth of summer, I get used to it and start to take it for granted. It feels like it's always been summer, and it will always be summer. I forget that in a few months it will be back to the bitter cold that plagues this state for eight months a year (or so it seems).

Don't get me wrong--I definitely take advantage of warm weather. I ride my bike all the time, run outside, go swimming, sit in my backyard for hours, and anything I can do to be outside, really. This summer I was fortunate to have a job that allowed me to be outside almost all day--practically a dream come true. I don't even mind the higher-than-usual 100+ degree weather that everyone else whines about. I love it and thrive on it. Bring it on, sunshine! A few bucket loads of sweat ain't gonna hurt me.

However, it's just that my brain starts to go into denial that it'll get gross out again. I despise, loathe, and dread winter. Even late fall and early spring. I have poor circulation and am pretty much always cold, even when it's only down to about 50 degrees. And cloudy weather makes me sad. I just want to stay inside and hibernate and hide under blankets all day. I don't even like to move around the house much; I pretty much stay curled up under layers of clothing and blankets on the bed or couch whenever possible.

That's why I wanted to move to Austin, although that's not going to happen just yet. (I need to save up more money and do more job planning.) I think the continual warm (and HOT) weather would be good for me. I wouldn't sink into a depressed, avoidant state-of-mind, like I do when it's cold. It would be summer all the time! My on-again-off-again relationship could be a full-fledged, long term thing.

I am going to be here another year at least, so that does mean another Midwest winter. But I'll make the most of it. I do kind of like when it snows around Christmas.

Mister Guardian Lion

Mr. Guardian Lion has found a new home, which is to say, my home. He used to reside at Tops Boutique, but he had to leave because the store is being emptied to undergo some changes. Before that, he lived in the sculpture studio at UNO, where he was birthed. (In other words, where I made him).

He isn't just chillin' in the living room like in the photo though, no. He is sad and lonely in an otherwise empty upstairs room in my house. I feel it would be much easier to find a home for him if he weren't so damn big. But his size is what really makes him so impressive.

Hopefully I can find someone who will want him. I was going to try to sell him, but at this point, if anyone can find a way to move him (i.e. has a truck or access to one) I'm willing to give him away.