I have been busy. But there is always time for fun! Where to start. Friday night the cow and I headed down to the Newmark theater near the South Park blocks to take in DJ Spooky's - Rebirth of a Nation. The theater is awesome. It is a true Shakespearean theater (three tiers). Overall the show, music, and audience were awesome. DJ Spooky's goal was to make your mind ask questions regarding history - instead of him answering them for you.
The cow delivered this beautiful bouquet of flowers that are still brightening my days. We decided since our house on Yamhill closes this week and we become home debtors again that we should get out there and start thinking of paint colors, furniture, flooring, etc. We decided to start at Albina Press (the best coffee shop in Portland). We needed a pick-me-up for all the browsing we were about to endure. Neither of us are shoppers so it was very difficult to think that we would be shopping all day. So, instead of shopping - we took a detour and headed to our hood. We sat and had a beer and tatertots at the Side Street Bar - beer good but tots not so much! Listened to a young local band they were very, very good. Mr. Banana came to save the day and redirected us to our goals of the day making us flash back to what we were suppose to be doing.
Once all of the chores were out of the way we found another street fair. This one was in the Pearl so we walked down to the Bones and Brew festival. Of course they had bbq but the reason the cow walked all the way down was to try the spirits. There were many local - new distillers offering samples for $1.00.

Fly, Spin, Squirm, Ricochet

Imagine yourself wearing a red and black geometric print spandex suit from head to toe. The audience is clapping your arrival on the stage - suddenly the pounding of the taiko drum begins and your body is defying gravity and all the punishment that goes with it.
Last night in Portland the TBA-05 Festival (Time*Based Art) began in Pioneer Square with a free performance by STREB. To explain STREB completely is ultimately impossible; however, let me give it my best shot.

There were 7 (4 male & 3 female) members of the acrobatic-dance-gymnastic group. The stage was a large platform with a big screen, lights, trampolines, mats, and a large scaffold that was shaped like an upside down U. The top of the U (remember it is upside down) moved up an down during various acts. The title of the show was Wild Blue Yonder. The evening was broken into 15 different acts with emphasis on amazement and shock that the body and mind of the performer can continue to make the audience gasp!
The first act, Wild Blue Yonder, had all performers on stage bouncing and using the trampoline like it was made to be used. This was not your average backyard bouncing! It seemed like each performer was born to bounce. Not just bounce with their legs but with all parts of their bodies. Each member dove from the trampoline into the air and THUD onto the mat below - hence the name Wild Blue Yonder. At the same time the screen behind them was showing footage from the Wright Brothers flight and music was pulsating from massive speakers placed within the audience.
STREB continued performing for over an hour. Two of my favorite performances were Ricochet and Fly. Ricochet had all members on stage. A large piece of plexiglas was placed at the very front of the stage . It was suspended by tension ropes which made it appear as if the audience was looking through a window onto the stage. Each member would run (fast, extremely fast) and pound into the plexiglas with their full body to POW the ricochet motion of the body falling - THUD to the ground. Then the next performer would go - THUD, and the next - THUD, and the next - THUD. At one point, all of them had ran (fast), jumped and grabbed the frame of the plexiglas window in many different positions so from the audience you really didn't know where one body started and the next body ended. Truly through the looking glass (perception) - that is art!

The last act was called FLY! I really don't want to try to explain it, but I will say that on the walk home I wanted to put my arms out in front of me push my feet and legs out behind me and catch the wind and FLY!

Tonight we are partaking in another TBA performance. Paul D. Miller AKA D.J. Spooky will be remixing cinema, music and American history by reconstructing Rebirth of a Nation.

I was very concerned that I did not take my camera to the performance. Now I realize that without pictures you can develop a sense of the art in your own mind. Isn't that what art is? perception? Here we go with the question of "what is art?"

Downhill is fun!

"Let's go for a little bike ride"! Deciding to be outside on a beautiful day was a no-brainer. The cow said we would do a short 20 mile loop, come home and enjoy the remainder of Labor Day. If you have a map handy get it out, I am going to give you a synopsis of our route - I am not in the best shape and I do believe the cow was trying to kill me (I reminded him I do not have life insurance coverage). Here we go: start south on 9th, cross broadway bridge, take interstate south to katz promenade, emerge on Hawthorne blvd, take bike route through Ladd's addition, head east on harrison/lincoln to mt. tabor, this is our first summit and rest! It is beautiful at the top. Great views and wonderful weather, I was so sweaty that I was actually a bit chilly. Once I had caught my breath, the cow said do you want to go on because there is another summit we will be traversing. I, of course, did not want to be the girl that couldn't keep up so I said "let's do it." Down hill is a blast but I am still paranoid when the wind sheer feels like my bike is going to come out from underneath me.
Next series: we take Yamhill east to north 74th (hey that rhymes) and cross freeway 84, east on Tillamook (mmmm cheese), north on 92nd and then the climb up Rocky Butte Road (no bike lane but very few cars). When we got to the top there was an old fort with very little information regarding its origins. This area offered great views to the east - Mt Hood and the beginning of the Gorge. Didn't need as much rest here because I knew there was a beer waiting for me somewhere! Yahoo! Downhill! Can you see me flying down the hill with my hair blowing behind me with a big smile on my face!
The last leg was a series of left and rights or wests and souths. We take Fremont west to 83rd south to Siskiyou west and 72nd south - during this back-n-forth the cow would read me the coordinates and I would then remind him where to turn (a couple of times he had to check to see if I was correct). Next we took Sacramento west to 60th south (very cool area here - sits on a hill and looks over a golf course - very quiet - no cars), Hancock west to 43 North to Tillamook west to 28th south to Tillamook west again(I know this doesn't make sense but believe me it is true). This is where we veered from the "rubber to the road" map we were using. We headed north on Flint and took a sharp left (west) on Fremont and ended up on Mississippi with a Tecate and Vege Taco at Por que no?! Now that was worth both of the climbs!

Ass-toria-Seaside-Cannon Beach

First, you pronounce Astoria - with the emphasis on the ASS. It is approximately 75 miles from Portland. The cow and I drove highway 30 following the Columbia to the ocean. It took about an hour and a half after getting gas (YIKES!) and grabbing a cup of coffee. The drive is quite lovely! Highway 30 had very little traffic (even on Labor Day Weekend). Once arriving we parked and walked the town. It has many unique and interesting buildings and everything faces the Columbia. The buildings have survived for centuries; places like City Hall, the Elliot Hotel and the Ole Theater. The mouth of the Columbia is extremely wide spanning to Washington. The people of Asstoria are quite the fancy clothiers (I HATE Pink). After some fish and chips at a place that I would call a cross between Bob's Big Boy and Denny's, we sailed on down Highway 101 to Seaside about 8 miles from Asstoria.
To explain Seaside I need to have you close your eyes and imagine the following: families, Vegas size motels without the glitz, taffy shops (I counted 5 during my short stroll), various foods like you are at a fair and a beautiful expansive beach with a great malacon. Many families were picnicing, jumping the waves and enjoying the warm weather (although there are clouds it was about 76 degrees). If you following the Tsunami signs you will be safely away from the coast and the rising tide as long as government officials give the right information and warnings.
Our last stop before heading home was Cannon Beach. We were told this was the quaintest beach community with proximity from Portland. I would describe it as a cross between old days Capitola, Pismo Beach and Morro Bay - it is definately not Mendocino! It too has a beautiful beach with large rock formations.
We tried our hardest to find a nice patio with a view of the ocean to have a glass of wine to no avail. We did have a glass but without the view.
I would definately go back to Cannon Beach, stay over night and dine at Evo!

Better late than never!

Sorry about the delay in the posting, but I had a crazy weekend with els and GoS in town and to be honest I was lazy.
Many good drinks and eats over the lovely weekend. GoS was waiting for rain and fortunately it did not show up until the morning of departure. Drinks from a bar called 820, snacks from Bar Pastiche (small bites), you also see dessert from Andina (the cocoa mixture is YUM!). Went for a stroll around Alberta street where I captured the skelton jumping from the ladder atop a roof (that is cool). Serracho/a treated us all to a bottle of Dom Perignon for the Big Portland adventure- the chicken light was very excited.

Pics of Alberta

Last Thursday of every month on Alberta is a free-for-all! Last night while cruisin' to the festivities I said, " let's get home a little earlier than we did the last time." Well, that did not happen.
I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves for the most part. I will give a one sentence synopsis of each.
1) Alpaca's are brought out to sell sweaters - I don't think they like it much. 2) YOUNG MEN in a band rockin' the entire street. 3) Girl creating balloon animals - she was reading the book on how to do it while she created them. 4) DJ setting up on the street corner which was really a bus stop handicap ramp. 5) Retro trailer is actually a rental - it can be yours for 65.00 a day. 6) Street corner singer - His song went something like this: "I hate to work, I hate to work, I hate to work...." 7) Three piece band in a gallery with lots of people milling about. 8) Girl with FIRE - she is actually swinging them around for the crowd while 5-8 guys play the drums on the side, the crowd got so large here that cars could not pass in either direction. 9) Random noun (AKA Kevin) was the BEST! He was an 11th grader who came out with his mom who is a massage therapist. She was offering a 10-minute massage, he was offering random nouns and useless facts. Mom said he made more money than her. 10) WELL- Rubenesque-Voluptuous-Need I say more? 11) Artists' setting up, kind of the calm before the storm.

Bureaucratic Shit!

As I am writing this I have the phone next to my ear waiting for the bureaucratic nightmare known as the Teacher Standards and Practice Commission of Oregon to pick up their phone! I started my quest for information at 8:05am and have been told twice to leave a message and someone would get back to me within two business days. Oh, I have forgotten to say that I have been waiting for this department to get off their ass and process my license to teach. I canNOT do anything to find a job until this damn certificate is issued. So those of you who are wondering what in the HELL I do all day...this is just some of the idiotic, nightmare, bureaucratic shit that happens daily!
Let me start from the beginning of this wonderful bedtime story. To be qualified to teach in the state of Oregon (or any state for that matter) one must be approved by a state licensing board. There are many documents you must submit; such as: Official transcripts for all colleges attended (4 for me), photocopy of california state license, C-2 form which says I graduated from a teacher prep program (this one is great! because if you remember I have taught in Cali and I had to send in transcripts and they have this info on there, but no I have to mail the C-2 form to Sac State and have them verify I graduated from a teacher program), PEER form (don't ask it is better not to know), official sealed fingerprints and.........
Well, this is where it gets really goood!
By the way I am still on hold.
After gathering and receiving all of these documents you must send them all in one envelope to Salem TSPC. When the TSPC opens your envelope they create a file and now you are officially "in process." Their website and phone message says, "all packets are evaluated or reviewed within 30days of reciept". My packet was received on JULY 19th! Yes, you got it WATSON - sometime around August 19th is when my packet would be evaluated. Being the anal retentive person I am I was checking the website daily. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Then last night once I hit ENTER, I got a shocker! Here was the message flashing on the screen to my bewilderment: 8/24/05 - Miscellaneous - Incomplete Packet.
WHAT THE %&*@!!!!!!
I went into a tailspin. How the hell are you suppose to function in this god damn mediocre, beaurocratic, nightmare system called Teacher Evaluation (they don't know me - I am a piece of paper - actually multiple pieces of paper).
After the tailspin slowed to a whirlwind, I read the fine print. Miscellaneous meant that there were two documents missing which made my wonderful packet incomplete. OK - this is great! I knew I had mailed EVERYTHING in one envelope. I checked, double checked and triple checked before I sealed the envelope. I ran to the bedroom grabbed the instruction sheet for Transitional Teaching License and read carefully the instructions one more time. The picture above shows you that the instructions are on one page - not two sided.
HA,HA,HA - Well in actuality the instruction are SUPPOSE TO BE two pages. The instruction packet sent to me by TSPC was INCOMPLETO!
So, Now I know that I must fill out two more documents (as shown in the pic above). I must mail them to TSPC in Salem and when they receive them guess what happens? Voila! My "in process" packet gets pushed back to the received date.
Needless to say, I don't want anyone asking me when I will be getting a teaching job, because the fact is I can't even SUB without that stupid piece of paper!