e.e. cummings (with love from suzy who is leaving toronto today)
“may my mind stroll about hungry
and fearless and thirsty and supple
and even if it’s sunday may i be wrong
for whenever men are right they are not young”
e.e. is still my favoriteeeeee
kensington market toronto (<3 s)
where i am going today
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kensington_Market
yippee. they have the best vintage shopping, and great veg. places to eat. and, though i didnt know this last time i was here, wikipedia just told me there is a cafe that you can smoke in. like the koffeshops of amsterdam. interesting……
i had no idea!
had a great shoot yesterday. make up artist and some looks from the 1950s. yippee. 
trollies in toronto. 
and, a windmill.
Passports… And Bibles? – By A
I know that “I lost something so important” feeling very well, I’m ditzy and often misplace a wallet or iPhone or credit card. But nothing is as lost ids/passports on days of traveling. Sorry to inform you but you probably erased about 5 or 6 months of your lifespan from that day of stressing. But life will still big long and good, though!
Enjoy Canada!
I’m in a cafe and two girls sat down near me with folders and laptop, etc. I hear, “oh noooo, I think I forgot my Bible”. ”Oh, you can use mine.” ”Oh, here it is!”
My eyebrows rose a titch. Hmm? They have continues to sit and discuss on a more scholarly level, but they are young. I will presume, since this is Portland coffeeshop that they are here, not do discuss your religion but because they are Freshman in some Intro to World Religion class. What do you think?
—
Hey, I found my TATOO MATCHING SOCKS!!! cool
toronto. passport hell. life in general. (lovelovelove suz)
oh MAN. am going to toronto in a few hours. had a late crazed night last night (as i am sure you could tell by my text msg) so instead of packing last night, set my alarm for 6 am to pack this morning before work. packed a bit of random shit, then ryan, who is meeting me there, called to make sure i was awake. yes! i was.
he asked– and, you packed your passport, right?
NO. i didnt. im only going to canada. doesnt seem like such a big deal. seattle was further and i didnt need a passport then. ha. so i go to reach for where my passport always is. and, it isnt. so i look in a few more places. nope.
FUCKKKKK.
one hour later: room is torn apart. i took a shower at some point in the middle, to calm myself down, and bc i had to go to my office. its nowhere to be found. i continue to tear apart room. email boss, im going to be an hour late. googling rules about getting into and out of canada. seems that its not going over the border, its coming back into the states that will be harder. call dad to see if he can scan birth certificate. find online that they need the one with the seal. can they mail it? no, they are at my grandmothers for a few days. fuccckkkkk.
go to work. do some work. erase an entire design by accident bc i am so worried about this. took a half day. got home and continued what i had started this morning: dumping out folders, drawers, ransacking my book shelve.
FOUND IT. finally. yes. good. have not eaten since a pumpernickel bagel i grabbed from a street vendor when i jumped off the subway this morning. went to get veggie tacos, bc everyone got chiptole for lunch and i worked through lunch. and guess what guys: yes, i found my passport, so me being all frantic and insane at work today was for a good reason, i guess, and, my two veggie tacos and 2 happy hour maragritas were only ten bucks total. whew! cant beat that in midtown.
leaving brooklyn, somewhat drunkly, in moments to go take the subway to airport. meeting ryan in buffalo. hes renting a car and we are driving over. stopping at niagria (sp) falls at midnight or so im sure. yiipppeee.
then modeling, sightseeing in a fake way, admiring canada’s cleanliness. etc.
talk soon.
xo
oh and just saw this lyric somewhere, and im not sure i would like the song, but, i like the lyric:
pawned my piano to pay for the lessons
i think i feel like that daily
What to do with life, she asks? Also, stuff regarding WalMart and Pole Dancing for larger girls. (Thoughts from Alex)
Suzy texted me randomly today, Alex, what should we do w our lives since we can do anything in the world!!!!!
I smiled. Because that is always on my mind, being in a new city and all. The doors are all around me, which one do I open? After some volunteering at the youth center today I was thinking, why not just make my way into the non-prof world working with kids, especially queer youth. After being blessed all my life to be exactly as I wanted, why not provide that for someone else who is suffering? Being around teenagers in general reminds me how AWFUL that time is and how someone just a little older in their 20s,30s can have a real positive effect without being too much of an authority figure.
But also your question reminded me of something I so wanted to mention…. recently, meeting some new people at a potluck in the neighborhood, we got on the “career” conversation, so to speak. This is Portland, so no one really uses that stupid word, exactly. Anyway, I mentioned to a new friend my current schpeal about looking for work in my media field, if it exists here and then after a while if it hasn’t happened then I would just go ahead and go to culinary school… I said, “that’s at the top of the list, anyway”. She asked, “well what else is on the top of the list?” And I replied, “well, honestly doing NOTHING is right there at No. 1.”
And it is true. Not laziness per se, just if I had the means (sugar daddy, lottery, etc) then I probably would settle just fine for dinner with friends, wine, cafes, bars, travel, yoga, cooking, gardening, sleeping. What the hell else? Oh, I’d surely continue to volunteer my time for the betterment of things, too! A year building houses in Africa, cooking at homeless shelters…. etc. What a brilliant life!
In the meantime. <<<<<<>>>>>>
OK. So, I have to apologize for being a momentary hypocrite. I needed a hose that was in better condition, since I just planted grass seed in my front yard. I also needed a rake. Fast and cheap hose and rake. I’m sure the garden shop on my block would have it, but at outrageous prices and probably also made in China, anyway… as much as I like to buy American and used, a hose is just the kind of thing that you need to get new, right? I googled Target and it was a little out of the way, while WalShitMart was just a hop away…. eeeeeee? Do I do it? Yes, of course, I can spend a couple dollars in WM just every few years, right? (Actually, I think I bought some longjons there when I was in the mountains in NV, but in NV there is no nicer option, really.) It wasn’t that bad. Cheap hose, rake and I figured it wouldn’t hurt me to pick up a cheap personal sized deep-fryer. YUP, I got a deep fryer. Loves it. I’m not turning all meat and McDonalds, it happened because an Indian restaurant around here had this salad with these AMAZING garbonzo beans. I asked how they were made and of course, deep fried and tossed with cumin and turmeric…. and since I’m currently addicted to great/fun/functional kitchen devices, I did it. Got my deep-fryer, came home fried some chick peas and tossed. Yum! You will be happy when you are here and we have fresh tempura in my living room. MMHMMMM. Ahh, I’m thinking beer batter! Anyone, anyone?
And lastly, as I sip my $1.50 PBR at the ‘Bar of God’ … I HAVE TO TELL YOU that I got everyone I know BEAT for “BEST CLOSEST BUSINESS”….. anyone wanna put money on it? And I’m coming from LA where I had a pot shop on my corner.. NO, THIS IS BETTER!
So, with all the spring days and yard work and sunny afternoons, I find myself often on the front porch. And as I settle into my house and street (It’s a month, today), I’m taking in all the street watching… who lives where, who has kids, who owns which cat.. I’m very gossip-grandma spying on everyone. There is just across the street on the corner a bead shop, but next to it is an unmarked door and we’ve noticed a lot of in-and-out there. Oh, a drug front? Nah. Seemed like some kind of business, but no markings and curtains in the window. Finally I’ve strolled by and got a name and did some googling… it turns out, the nearest business to my house is none other than PRIMAL BEGINNINGS… a pole dancing studio for women with “all body types”…. OKKKKAYYYY!!!!!!
More meat for the meat eaters/Everyone is in a band here, but me. (By Alexander)
SUZY! PEOPLE! PEOPLE OF SPRINGTIME’S PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE. PEOPLE OF ARGENTINA!
What wonderful is the month of April… all those years in LA and I forgot what the coming on of Spring is like. So Brilliant as buds bud and flowers bloom.
Doing things like getting grills, lawnmowers, rakes. Yup, those kind of things that you New Yorkers don’t quite contemplate, do you? Craig’s list is great for grills, I’ve learned.
OH! Wanted to tell you, hearing about the meeting with Temple inspired me to get back in touch with my friend, the man that was the President of Temple U. while we attended. Recall I attended some HRC dinners with him, representing Temple’s gay student community. (Wow, to look back and think that it was ME that represented all those Queers to such a prestigious organization..yikes) So we are in e-conversation, tuns out he has family in Portland! Also, still is teaching at TU, so he will surely be happy to hear of our project. I really should use this time to write my stories for the book. I think I’ll dig out old journals! College was a time of real, handwritten journals! I wonder if I should research some notes on “travel writing”… Surely there must be a book written on how to write travel.
ALSO… speaking of the old days. Your pictures from the Gift of Life gala are great and I’m sorry I missed the occasion. What was weird is the setting and lighting are just as it was when we were ALL there together, so many years back, and I feel like I’m looking at you and Leah and Jesse and it was then, not now.
Jesse Galle, if you read this: I LOVE YOU!
I’m sitting, dorkily, on a laptop, outside! On Hawthorne Street, again sipping the best coffee. (Can I stress this enough?) The sun is shining and the temperature is rising. It reminds me of those first really warm days on campus when all of a sudden people came out of the woodwork (or skipped class, maybe) to take off the clothes and shoes and sit in the grass and feel warm. (And smoke pot.)
A moment ago an old man was sitting next to me, sipping his mug and smoking a cigarette. (Isn’t this a song?) He kept moaning/grunting kind of under his breath,but not, things like “ohhh, yeahh”. ”yuuup, yuup, yuuup.” I think he was REALLY enjoying this warm breeze!
Now he is gone and there is a couple sitting and reading and I think, smoking pot. Well, again, the economy has me and so many more folks I know and don’t know rolling our own cigarettes. It’s actually much more healthy(?). Well, interesting, anyway. Did I tell you that I’ve been rolling filtered cigarettes, its 1/3 organic tobacco and 2/3 herbs (not those kind)… mostly lemon balm, peppermint, etc. They are wonderful! But they look like joints.
I haven’t found a job, but have had 2 interesting job interviews with good media outlets in Portland… there is hope! It isn’t like there are ZERO jobs, I just have to be a little resourceful until I find myself in the right place at the right time!
MEAT. So, I think I should finally declare, after a decade of flip-flopping on the subject that I now do not consider myself anything related to a vegetarian. It went on for so many years that I thought that I was even though I’d always be “sneaking some bacon”. A good friend would even mock me and say things like “It’s Tuesday today, Alex, does that mean you eat meat or not?”
And we talked mostly about this on our road trip in January. And Ryan made me laugh because he waited for you to not be in the car to eat the bag of Beef Jerky! And you commented on eating the broth in french onion soup and I think we are on the same page.
Not to say that I am anything but healthy! And, the nearest store to my house for groceries sells strictly only grass fed, free range meats and fishes (if fish ate grass). So yes, I continue to follow my whole foods diet of mostly fresh produce and grains and all the health extras like flax and vinegars and herbs but also no longer deny the fact that I enjoy fine meats, healthy animals, organic dairy, and lots of fish, all in moderation as I have been doing for years! Why this announcement, at this point in my life?
GRILLING!
I guess I have missed out on years of having a grill in my own back yard! Yup!
Those are organic skewers baby! Yup, on bamboo, roasting on natural charcoal. Yup, beautiful ain’t they?!??? See those WHOLE, UNSEEDED jalopenos in there. Yup, that was painful!
Thats my lawnmower! Do you love it? It was $35 at the corner vintage hippie shop. I asked the owner if I could test it out and they let me. I came back and said, it’s a keeper! Totally vintage and made in USA. NO WAY!
Tulips in my yard.
Fuzzy cats like the shade.
I call this one, “house in spring with gray cat”. 2009
i feel the same way about clocks as the yip yip guys do >lovesuzy<
i think the clock is more of an alien than the alien.
raining again in brooklyn. returned on a bus last night again from a nearby east coast city.
my life has so many variables, but somehow they are becoming consistent.
i am eating spicy carrot chips though. i have never done that before! : ) a new night for me.
leah and i went to temple to talk to them about publishing the london study abroad book and they loved the idea. so, alex, and any other temple london readers, news about that to come soon!
we went to the organ donor awareness party on friday night in philly. it was very fun as always! jesse has this group of friends that i see each year there, and i am friends with all of them that night. its like we are annual friends. friends for one night, each year, year after year. ryan came and was delightful and nice as always. its fun to have a bf you can bring anywhere who will like anyone. here are some funny and also random! pictures from that night of me leah jesse, and of course, ms. philadelphia:
all of the group of annual friends went to bob and barbaras aftewards, and we met up with more people who are philly based that didnt get to come to the party. bob and barbaras! old school philly fun. we were all in black tie clothes, which made it so much better. i made a friend w a semi-homeless guy on the way there (per usual weirdness for my drinking), and he hung out w us all night.
on to baltimore the next day. ryan had an alumni weekend, and we went to lacrosse games and explored the college. it was fun. baltimore is nice! like a cross between philly and boston to me. we went to the american visionary art museum, which i liked a lot. i have pics from all this. you inspired me to take pictures alex!! so, i will post them here soon. 
in the meantime, i left my laptop charger in another state in the trunk of a car, so, i may not get to write until i am in toronto this friday. but, i can actually blog from my mobile phone now, so if i get bored enough at a bar or coffeeshop, i will send a hello world out there <3
and, for closures, here is a little new york times article i liked, that has this sentence in it: Lately, an apocalyptic bile has been collecting in the back of America’s throat. here ya go
Metaphors – By Alexander
Portland is like life. You leave the house and it is warm and sunny, you get settled in a coffeeshop and absorbed into work/books/internet and sip your mug. You look up after a few hours and…. it’s pouring? Huh. Sometimes it rains and the sky is blue. WTF? Then, sip your mug again and the rain is gone.
Good Coffee and Biking over Bridges -LOVE,ALEXANDER
Favorite things about Portland today:
After years of working and hanging in coffee shops, after getting totally sick of coffee in general and not drinking it except occasionally in LA I have to say, this is THE BEST COFFEE. Most coffeeshops in PDX serve the beans freshly roasted at Stumptown Roasters. And so the Americanos here remind me of how good they were in London and Paris. Seriously, that good! And it looks like the owner has a love for Brooklyn and is starting a roaster in Red Hook.. http://gothamist.com/2008/09/15/what_you_need_to_know_about_stumpto.php Get excited and tell your friends! Why is there this continuing connection between Portland & Brooklyn!!!
Someone in the cafe just said “well I would have gone and saw the house but I was really hungover and the internet wan’t working, so”
The other great thing here is the bridges. I had to face a real fear of them… I forgot about years back riding over the GG Bridge in SF, but that was with friends and part of the excursion over to Sausalito (Leah came once).. today headed downtown for errands and to volunteer I rode my bike the 3 miles from my house to downtown and over a big fucking bridge with buses zooming by and the Willammette River roaring below. OK, it doesn’t really roar. But the college boys out rowing is very distracting!
Oh yeah, Suzy: did I tell you that I’ve become a volunteer in the food kitchen at Portland’s biggest and amazing youth shelter/center. I suppose I never was looking in previous cities, but Portland has a very significant amount of street youth- a result of drug users, mental health issues, and Queer-youth runaways… it is am amazing space and center called OUTSIDE IN… I will be there every Wednesday cooking and serving food to these teens… it feels very special to see kids desire to be in a safe place and have help and education.. more on it soon!
PICS!
THIS IS THE MURAL JUST FINISHED NEXT DOOR TO ME.. YES, THAT MY HOUSE ON THE RIGHT AN THAT IS THE NEW MURAL ON THE APARTMENTS NEXT DOOR. HOW COOL!
NEARLY EVERY CAFE/BAR/EATERY IN PORTLAND HAS FREE!WATER!… THATS RIGHT… WHAT A CONCEPT! AND LAST WEEK AN ENVIRONMENTAL GRUOP SUBSIDIZED KLEAN KANTEEN AND SOLD THEM HALF PRICE ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES.. WHAT IS THIS, HEAVEN FOR HIPPIES?
MY CAT GOES OUTSIDE NOW… HOW NERVE-RACKING FOR ME AND AMAZING FOR HIS LITTLE KITTY MIND…
finding blogs, you are all ( love suzy )
things to see in the united states, la life vs ny life, gold bikinis, yay vs yaaa
all are things people used to find our blog today.
ha.
i am hating office life. i feel like a baby complaining. o well. i do hate it, for today. i need to figure my shit out. yes. i do.
a jesus holiday, a bus ride, a usual unusual weekend >by s<
going home to celebrate a holiday about a religious figure that my family does not discuss any longer. not that we ever really had big deep discussions about it, but when i was young we at least went to church and all of that. the whole dog and pony show. IS that a phrase? i have no idea… but, it sounds like what i am trying to say. haha.
maybe i will ask my mom if she wants to go to church on easter sunday. i dont hate it, i actually like it in some sort of way. looking around the room, asking who really believes in this.
so, busride of course to get to nj today. i am going to atlantic city with ryan tonight,,, weird! mostly bc i want to go shopping at the outlets on sat., to find a dress to go to all these weddings i am attending this summer. i would rather find a few cool dresses at a thrift store, but finding a truly great dress can be a hard task. maybe one expensive-ish one, and one thrift. im sure the expensive new one will just be a knock off of the cool thrift one anyway…
i have tons of pictures to sift through from LA. i owe lots of people emails. i am excited to go to nj and have a slow life for a few days. lets just hope the internet connection is awesome. i have freelance work to do! : )
CUTE PROTESTORS! (from Alex)
Wow, someone has finally thought to start a photoblog loaded with SUPER-CUTE-PROTESTORS.. check it out, makes me smile.
FRIENDS AND BOTTLES, THE ESSENTIALS TO LIFE, right, suzy??
HI SUZY! I feel like I faded into my life there briefly, which is never a bad thing. And you are getting naked in the rain in the east coast and that sounds beautiful, in a way!
I’m listening to the LCD Soundsystem in my sun-filled living room this late afternoon. Portland is north enough that we sure do see a long day this earl in the year. Very nice light already as late as 8, 8:30… wow! Wait until the warm bright July nights!
LCD just sang that lyric “New York I love you, but your freaking me out!”
My garden is sowed and I think the tiniest of green buds are popping their noses from the dirt. Arugula is the first to show signs! My fair Arugula! Soon we’ll see radishes, spinach, butter lettuce. Speaking of all that I have just used my professional food processor/blender to make the greenest smoothie ev – beet greens, yogurt, juice, flax, agave, blueberried and a pear! WOW! It’s not a pretty sight but YUM!
Spring has sprung this past weekend in Oregon, the city of spring daffodils! They grow like weeds and I will be sad to see them go… and I continue to explore all the interesting angles here..
What a great set of options here:
Suzy, I’m home alone today, which isn’t common seeing as that we’re all in and out of a lot and have had company. But today it is empty and I have to mention how weird a new house is. I keep finding or hearing little things that I have to explore. Especially noise. It’s like, I don’t yet know all the little creeks and croaks of this big, old house. I’m constantly leaning up like “no what’s that noise?” Trees rubbing on the roof? A cat on a counter top somewhere?
Guys, there is forrest just a few blocks from my house. How brilliant is that to have. Reminds me of the “woods” of
Hyde Park near our London abode.
LCD Soundsystems stopped and now it is Leonard Cohen, what an interesting afternoon of tunes.
another, !!! >love suzy<
another day of rain in brooklyn all day today. i guess we have our rainy season, too.
today was the type of day i love, and to do it in the rain makes it all the better.
booked a lot of bus tickets, to the weddings, to the parties, to the things that are coming up in the next few months. booked up to late june, and, when i tried to book on for an august date, they said those dates were not yet available. im the only crazy girl booking my entire summer i guess!
i did get a few of my bus rides from here to philly or here to baltimore or DC for a dollar, or $4, which is why its great to do it in advance. i will remember china town buses as the time in my life when i was fresh out of college, and then bolt bus and megabus as i got a bit older.
check out this website: http://flowingdata.com/2009/03/13/27-visualizations-and-infographics-to-understand-the-financial-crisis/ Visuals to Explain the FINANCIAL CRISIS! oh man have i been waiting for this! i have been so confused for months!!!
images from yesterday. lots more but most have boobs in them…
