Random Things

1. This neighborhood is a veritable baby factory. I mean, Jesus, I love kids. But I swear to God, there are baby trees on every corner around here.
2. Why is everyone getting married? I know of five couples getting married this summer alone. I always thought I would marry at 26. Why? I guess because my Mom had me when she was 26. Then again, she got divorced at 28 and I became a fatherless child when she was 29. But I digress. Really my issue is everyone I know getting married actually seems to have their shit together. I so do not have my shit together. Get back to me in ten years.
3. I love Delivered Dish. Love. I have been living off Delivered Dish for the last two weeks. Thai food, Indian food, Thai Food, Indian Food. Why would I want to leave my house? Really? I suppose now that I am single I should want to leave me house. I do not.
Reasons I do not want to leave my house: I have a great couch, I have a great dog, 4. I am finally going to finish re-reading Anna Karenina, and, finally, it is raining.
5. When will I quit smoking? I do not even enjoy smoking anymore. The world has turned on smokers. Fuck though. I have nothing left. No drinking, no partying, no craziness. I have a fairly addictive personality. I fear what I will become without cigarettes. Probably lovely smelling.
6. I love my dog. Dylan is weird beyond belief. The older he gets the weirder he gets. I know that his cataracts are getting worse and I know that things will just get weird beyond belief once he goes completely blind. I do not know how I ended up with this midget odd-ball dog. But, Dylan is quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to me.

Back In Black

Finally found a place to get AC/DC downloads legally: MSN Music. Evidently, you can't buy single songs, have to buy entire albums. But, I don't really care. 'Cause I have found a place to get my AC/DC fix online. What's that you say? Why yes, I could've just gone to a record store. But that would've been too fucking easy. And I would've still been annoyed that I couldn't find it online. So, now you know. MSN Music. My computer is currently installing about the 80th program I've had to install this week in the wake of this Dell DJ Shitty thing and this new hunt for AC/DC. But hey, what else do I have to do on this mini-vacation from law school?

Little story 'bout Mac and Dell Ditty

Those damn new Mac commercials with the kid from Ed (who, evidently, totally grew into his geekness) are really making me wish I'd never switched from my IMac to this stupid fucking Dell. I finally pulled out this Dell DJDitty my aunt sent me a couple of months ago thinking "this will be easy right? Dell drive plugged into Dell laptop, no problem." Problem. Mother fucking Ditty doesn't like ITunes, of course: Little Demon Ditty only likes Music Match, an inferior and confounding program. So Little Flustered Christine got a little pissed off and spent the morning downloading Music Match only to find out Music Match doesn't like to import about 90% of her ITunes files.

Whatever. Several hours later I had my Damnfun for Jumpropin' Ditty rigged and I was happy. Now, will someone please tell me why the fuck someone can't get the ACDC catalogue to ITunes already?!?

The District Burns Alone Tonight

The sent of smoke from a commercial fire fills the air outside my window tonight and if I close my eyes I am back home driving from school with the placid Sound to my left towards the smell of burning camp fires just right of the entrance to Dash Point Beach to meet my friends, or it's that summer night we come to the beach too late thinking the park remains open because the gate is still open and then we see the fire trucks and we stand stunned watching the blaze and when they catch us we lie and say we came looking for a ring I lost that day in the sand, or maybe I am back sitting on the deck of Lizz's beach house that 4th of July throwing M-80s and 100s into the water and covering ourselves in their wet explosions when, stoned, we call the police to report that the neighbor's beach house is on fire only to realize (after the fire department arrived) that it's only a bon fire and so now I miss the scent of the Sound, I miss the salt and breeze, and today I asked Shelley if, being from the same sort of Washington town, she missed this too, and of course she did, because the Sound, the Sound is in our blood, and I miss that part of the night when the Sound called and I swam out in search of that point where the moonlight hit the water where Kara saw us once where he took me once where there was a way to wash the scent away.

Installation

Got Shelley's wake up call just after I'd hit the snooze button for the second time. We meet at the coffee shop and after scribbling directions on the cover of my Willamette Weekly head out to her college. I follow her lead, barely, as I tend to drive at least three miles under the speed limit when I know where I'm going and at least five when I don't. The cop who pulled up behind me in Lake Oswego didn't help. Just before we hit the left turn to her campus, I'm amazed to see a stretch of highway that looks so much like California.

After finding parking (a slightly easier endeavor than at Lewis & Clark) I meet Kim, Shelley's old boss at the Art Gym. I quickly understand that Kim, however sweet and well meaning, could quickly wear on one's nerves. After a long reminder about opening windows and not setting off alarms, however, Shelley gains admittance to the Art Gym, and we are alone.

Finally, I see the culmination of over a year of Shelley's life. Two spaces - one large corner, one small room - wait for Shelley's work. A coating of taupe-beige paint sets her walls apart from the rest: the paint's called pita-something, we detect a hint of mauve, but not enough to feel concerned. Mostly, it looks, and feels, huge; not just the size of the gallery, which Shelley tells me used to be a real gym for nuns in habits, but the size of the grand finale, the graduation, the show and all the opportunities that lie before my friend.

As the heat sets in, I watch Shelley calmly set to work. We paint and measure and then I watch and check the levels of each piece as she places them on the wall. The gallery air grows stale and plain old hot and we sweat and laugh while we work. I truly needed a day like this; a change of scene, something to take my mind off things, something to get me out of the house. I leave just before rush hour, one wall into things, as Ben's come to help.

See you at the show: this Shelley girl's gonna be huge.