Living the Creative Life

Via You know that scene in the movie Collateral , with Tom Cruise, where he's in L.A. in the middle of the night and a coyote walks across the road in front of him? Yeah, that really happens here. The Mexicans around here have a legend that the coyote hypnotizes you if you look them in the eyes. I don't know if that's true necessarily, but they sure are mesmerizing to look at. They are about half as big as a female deer (hey, I'm from Oregon; I know deer... we have almost as many deer as trees in Oregon!) , but they tend to walk around more purposefully than a deer, less scared. Whereas deer will stop in front of your car and look freaked out, a coyote will just glance at you as he's marching across the road, almost as if saying, "Oh it's you again. Don't bother me, I'm hunting rabbits." Via Yes, rabbits. No, this isn't just a plot from a Looney Tunes cartoon. I've been helping my dad run a paper route in the nights and ...

I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the weather here. I know what you're thinking... but 80 degrees in November is awesome! I guess... if you like summer... which I don't particularly. I'm not saying it's horrendous torture to still be 80 degrees in November, just that it's weird. Summer is fine, in moderation, when it's part of the yearlong cycle of seasons, but November should not be part of summer. Summer should be over by now. November is supposed to be sweaters and pumpkin lattes and curling up by the fireplace with a good book. I'm literally still in shorts and t-shirts, whipping out my sunglasses everytime I go outside. It's very odd. via I was reading an article from a local magazine the other day... talking about how it was flannel sheets weather. Um, really? Really?? Flannel sheets!?? I'm still throwing off blankets in the middle of the night because I'm so warm. It definitely is NOT flannel sheet weather. Flanne...

Well, I haven't worn long pants or real shoes in about two weeks now. Lol. It's hot the second I wake up, but when the sun goes down, the evenings are very pleasant (that's when I try to do my shopping and errands). The errands we have had to run during the day result in lots and lots of sweat, but on the bright side, this pasty, white Oregonian is actually starting to tan! Never thought I'd be able to say that! I'm notoriously un-tannable. Lol. I don't know if you care to see my feet, but my sister found nearly free nail polish on her weekly grocery run, so I got three shades for $2 total! Wow! I am not nearly as savvy with couponing as she is, but maybe now that we're living nearby, some of that will rub off. ;) We had a broken air conditioner the first few days and we all thought we were going to die, but it's fixed now so we're all able to relax in a fairly cool apartment during the day. We had to dunk Carlita in the sink three times a ...

#1 - I now know how to pump gas I've pumped my own gas for the first... and second... time this week. Believe it or not, I made it to the ripe old age of 34 without ever having done that before. Oregon is one of the only states where pumping your own gas is illegal, so I've been privileged to have the station attendants do it for me up until now! Thankfully most pumps seem to have directions, so I'm sure I'll be an old pro soon. ;) #2 - My hair dries really fast in this hot, dry weather It's very odd to me to literally be out of the shower and in about 5 minutes my hair's nearly dry. In Oregon, I'd have to spend like 10-15 minutes with a hair dryer to get it dry. Most days I wouldn't bother and would just let it stay wet for hours. I never really thought about the fact that our very humid Oregon weather was probably partially to blame for my hair taking so long to dry! Lol. Now living in the middle of a desert, it's very interesting to be able to d...

We're moving in less than a month to Southern California, so I thought it'd be fun to do a little pro/con list. I've lived in NW Oregon my entire life, so the culture difference is probably going to take some getting used to! Oregon : Love the rain and all the green it makes. SoCal : Won't have to worry about things molding all the time. Oregon : Love the seasons and the definite shift to colder weather for half the year. SoCal : I think I can get used to flip flops and shorts year round (or at least mostly year round). Oregon : Beautiful scenery which inspires beautiful photography. SoCal : Ditto. I can't wait to explore all the nooks and crannies of the state with my camera. Oregon : Cheaper places to live. SoCal : Better salaries available. Oregon : Nothing much to kill you in the way of bad weather or venomous creatures. SoCal : Wildfires, earthquakes, black widow spiders... Oregon : Fairly relaxed and laid-back. SoCal : Crazy drivers, more cr...

I've got one and half weeks left of classes in this term, and lucky me... allergy season started early this year. Which means I'm not feeling 100% AND I have way too much to do. Not a good combination, but I'm trying to finish well. Also I've been discussing things with my parents, who have been planning to move to L.A. this spring/summer, and I just might (probably definitely will) go with them! I suppose an act of God could still hinder this plan, but it's pretty much set in stone at this point. It's a brand new plan though (we just started discussing it this past weekend), so it still feels unresolved and not quite real at this point, but it really actually is. Anyway, they are moving there for my dad's business, and I had originally been planning to stay here in Oregon to finish my program, but... it turns out that the school is probably going to cancel the graphic design program after this year (nothing officially official yet, but my director says...