Work continues, full force, prepping the house for the short sale. Seems like such a simple thing but the boy and I now only have clothing that actually fits our bodies. For too long he’d had too-small t-shirts stashed away in his dresser drawers. I’d been clinging to old favorite dresses from forever ago that would never feasibly fit me again. But that’s good news for the local ladies of Summer of Dresses! A few good ones got away, to the Goodwill, before I realized I should hang on to them. But I have culled a dozen or so of the most amazing from the discard pile to swap and share. I’m looking forward to the Frocktails kick-off party!
Discarding fully half of our possessions really has been liberating. But I wonder how well what’s left over will fit into a two bedroom apartment and whether we have to purge even more. I can’t wait until we’re on the other side of this. Right now I feel like I’m being held hostage by this stupid house. The work is seemingly never-ending and expensive yet necessary repairs keep cropping up. Everything marked “H for Hazardous” in the housing pre-inspection has had to be corrected in order to list the house. The inspector comes back soon to sign off on the work. And today a “For Sale” sign popped up in front of the house. That made it feel so real. And hit me like a ton of bricks. Found myself getting all weepy about it. This house has been a huge burden and I have had real problems with it. But I also did the best I could to make it mine, to make it a good home for my son. It is gorgeous. And seeing it all gleaming and shining and de-cluttered now only makes it that much more bittersweet.
Not sure if this is more or less wistful, but I’ve finally posted trip round ups to go along with the photos. Oh, California dreaming - Los Angeles and Palm Springs style.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Coming back from California and returning to real life has been rough. My son was cranky with me. Our seasonal allergies are in high gear. I’m cold and jet-lagged. The house is in disarray and the housing inspector found even more shittiness than I’d anticipated. The cats have been bouncing off the walls and voicing their displeasure at the rearrangement/removal of their favorite furniture, but there’s still so much to get rid of. And I’m already chipping my manicure. But a home-cooked meal, a hot shower and a good night’s sleep and I’ll be good as new in the morning. Hopefully.
Five good things:
My Los Angeles trip pix are up on flickr. The Palm Springs portion will be coming soon.
Homeownership has caused me twelve years of hardship and heartache. There really is something to the annoying-but-true LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION mantra. I will mind that in the future. Thankfully that future will see us elsewhere. Likely closer to the boy’s school, his Dads, our friends and my workplace. I don’t know exactly where that place is just yet, but I have some pretty specific ideas. First I need to get us on the other side of this short sale business. My realtor is guessing it could be about six months from now. So close yet so far away!
A lot of folks could rightfully be having an “I Told You So” moment right about now. If only I’d listened to them back in 1999 this could have all been avoided (but who knows what other mistakes I might have made). My 25 year-old self was honed in on attaining her own version of the American Dream. And what an oddball one it has been. But it’s included a whole lot of amazing. And it’s only going to get better, with my return to renting and the easing of my burden. Before then I will continue stumbling down memory lane as I dismantle twelve years of our lives.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
The art of Guttural Visions is coming down tonight. We had a great opening night and a good show. No regrets. But what to do with the art now? I have fifteen 12 x 18 photos and one 16 x 20 canvas print. Guess I’ll try my luck with etsy, but I’ve had the postcards from the show for sale on etsy all month with nary a nibble.
Five great things:
- Why should kids have all the fun? The Science Museum of Minnesota presents a new event, called “Social Science” - this new series kicks off tonight. Yah mo b there.
- Tomorrow night I will be attending the TVBC reunion show! With two of my favorite local bands opening - Thunderbolt Pagoda and Seawhores. At the lovely Loring Theater (formerly called The Music Box).
- A band I adore, Grass Widow, will be playing at The Echo when I’m in LA, along with Hunx and His Punx and Shannon and the Clams.
- Save the date: April 15th, 7:00pm. Triumph 67, a Palestinian-American Minnesota-made movie, by some people I know, will be premiering at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival.
- Saturday, April 16th is the closing party for Sweat Stains, Beer, and Cigarettes - a show featuring work by some of my friends.
This Saturday, April 2nd, sees the return of the ARTCRANK poster show in Minneapolis. And this time around we at Clockwork will be hosting an all ages pre-party. There will be sidewalk games, face painting, papercraft, a pinata and more!
Lately I’ve been working hard to transform stress into progress. Despite a few minor panic attacks I’ve made some headway.
Five major milestones:
- My car loan was officially paid off two weeks ago. Now I’ve just got to keep that old Mazda running but it is mine, all mine.
- I submitted my McKnight Fellowship for Photography application, with just 10 minutes to spare. But hey, it was in on time! The lovely Elli Rader helped me narrow down my photo selection. Sadly I didn’t spend as much time writing the “Fellowship Plan” as I should have done, but I put it out there. Odds are slim to none that I’ll end up with the $25,000 award but at least I tried.
- A spring snowstorm got between me and my accountant last week, but I’ve rescheduled and will be having my taxes prepared this week. Not certain I’ll have my refund in time for my trip to LA but that sure would be lovely.
- While sorting through financial ephemera I came across a letter from my insurance company. Something about needing to confirm I actually have a home security system to continue receiving a discount. Pain in the ass but I re-sent the certificate and other pertinent info. I also found a medical bill (from just a couple of months ago) that already made its way to a collection agency. Called them up to pay it off from my health savings account and now they’ll be leaving me alone.
- Spots were already filling up fast for summer camp but I’ve got the boy registered. Phew.
This weekend I’ve allowed myself some downtime. A friend came through with free tickets for me, and a guest, for Minnesota Public Radio’s Wits, featuring the fabulous Patton Oswalt Friday night. It was a lovely time and most of the Twin Cities twitterverse was present, and tweeting. Saturday I remembered Geraldine Ferraro, did some cleaning, and spent most of the day reading Tana French’s page turner “Faithful Place” - by far the strongest of her novels (and I greatly enjoyed the first two of the Dublin Murder Squad books). Saturday night we entertained a few guests. We made cream cheese wontons, played UNO at my son’s urging and, for whatever reason, let my friends freak out our cat Freddy. Now this Sunday morning has come and gone in the blink of an eye and the lad and I are content to remain at home for the balance of the day. Monday morning will come soon enough and, with it, an end to Spring break and a return to the normalcy of routine.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Yesterday I woke up at 3am and drove over 120 miles without really going anywhere. Just to and from a mechanic in a nearly rural area, while squeezing a full work day in the middle. I was feeling a little punchy much of the day. But now my car has all new struts. And I’m so glad I made the journey yesterday instead of today. Hello Minnesotan Spring blizzard! Activities planned for today have had to be rescheduled. Instead the boy and I bonded while shoveling the back-breakingly heavy, wet snow. Not the most exciting Spring break he’s ever had, to be sure. But we are fully stocked with groceries and he is currently entertaining himself with the aid of library books, Legos, sculpey clay and a little Netflix Instant.
Five good things:
- Two of my favorite musicians have hauntingly beautiful new songs online. One by Thurston Moore, and another from Bill Callahan. Love.
- Simply Stunning Aurora Video from Norway. Magical and somehow soothing.
- I’m old enough to remember life before cell phones. And this piece almost makes me want to give up mine. Sometimes I would like to be less instantly reachable… My Life Without A Cell Phone: An Amazing Tale Of Survival
- Some Spring I would like to travel to a city that has a large Holi festival, so I can get all covered in color too. These Festival of Colors photos from The Atlantic are gorgeous. The “Banishing the Nain Rouge” event in Detroit also looks like good times.
- Courtesy of Cosby Sweaters, “It is finally here. After seeing DirectTv’s commercial with the damn little mini-giraffe’s[sic] in it, I was hooked. Even thought about changing service just due to the fact those little animals were involved. Now they have really done it, I present to you. Petite Lap Giraffe.” Yes, I would like to “See what our Bull Vladimir do around farm!” If only it were real. Makes me smile anyway.
It may officially be Spring around these parts but you sure couldn’t tell. Thankfully I have an unexpected trip to Los Angeles right around the corner, to visit a friend. Hoping this means a return visit to my favorite LA bar, Little Cave. And this time I’ll chase down the infamous Grilled Cheese Truck, for real.
My next door neighbors are gone. Unfortunately not the ones who sued me over tree branches, but the ones who were actually halfway decent. They left suddenly and without a word. And now their house sits vacant, with a small typed-up note on the front door. Foreclosure is the dirty word that’s been on my mind too much lately, as it is, and now it’s hitting way too close to home. Literally. I’ve regretted buying my house since day one and have been struggling to pay the bills for nearly twelve years. Despite searching high and low we haven’t had a roommate since 2009. There have been a few almost-roommates. Almost doesn’t pay the bills. Some days I’m tempted to just pack up our things and walk away from this money pit.
Let’s move away from my general exasperation. How about five good things for this dreary first day of Spring?
- My amazing son. He’s reading recreationally now. And my parent/teacher conference the other day confirmed what I had hoped. That he really has been making gains, both socially and academically, at his new school. That’s a huge relief.
- A friend is flying me to Los Angeles next month to visit her for a long weekend. I’m still sort of speechless. But it will be just the thing.
- The ex-boyfriend is now the boyfriend again and his new band, Blood Folke, had a great debut at the Kitty Cat Klub the other night. Photos here.
- Loads of good music, as ever. It’s what keeps me going. I’m looking forward to the new Moody, Standard and Poor by The Obits. A friend turned me on to Chubby Checker’s psychedelic album from the early 70s, called Chequered/New Revelation. It is remarkable. Unexpectedly so. Apparently he doesn’t like to talk about it but it’s great! And speaking of music, I randomly got on the guest list to see The Dodos this Wednesday night, at The Cedar Cultural Center. They’re touring in support of their latest album, No Color. I’m not a huge fan but maybe it would be fun? I could drag the lad along with me. And hey, Reading Rainbow is opening. That sounds edumahcational.
- Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s “Star Wars” - pretty funny. And yes, the lad and I will be seeing Paul soon.
The week ahead is going to be a challenging one, with my son’s school closed for Spring break. And now I’m kicking myself. I’d completely forgotten he qualifies for St. Paul’s Rec Center program. Alas it is too late so he’ll be tagging along to work with me, and as I chase all over the suburbs this week. At least I’ve but I’ve been spending my Sunday prepping for this hell week.
Wow, Japan. I don’t even know what to say. And on top of the earthquake/tsunamis they’ve got a volcano erupting. This on-the-ground, up close video of the Japanese tsunami is the craziest I’ve seen yet. And you can listen to the earthquakes off the coast of Japan. According to Dangerous Minds, this is what they sounded like. Especially eerie at the 1:20, 1:50, 3:00, and 5:20 points.
Audio sonification of the incredible seismic activity off the coast of Honshu, Japan - Friday March 11th. Tectonic is a realtime seismic analysis and sound synthesis system. Sound is created in realtime by earthquakes as they occur across the globe. A tightly integrated system between Max/MSP, Google Earth and Symbolic Sound’s Kyma processes earthquake data that is translated into sound synthesis parameters.â€
How about a shift of focus to five good things?
- Friday night we stopped by the beautiful MPLS Photo Center. It was the opening night for the Woman As Photographer exhibit (I totally missed the call for entries, oops), which features the work of a few photographers I know. All of it was stunning work and the place was packed. I may need to go back to spend some more time with the photos, when it’s not quite so crowded.
- “If you lived by… …you’d be home by now” - Sketchbook Project 2011 - the Hand-Drawn Book is being shown in Austin TX
- Congratulations to Chef Wadi voted best chef in the Twin Cities. Love that the write-up tells his Palestinian story as a backdrop to his success.
- I hadn’t realized that Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields wrote for Time Out NY. There is an archive of his articles available here. Neat.
- The antidote to natural disaster footage…a sexy “Careless Whisper” saxophone assault. I’m never gonna dance again. Guilty feet have got no rhythm…
Compared to the natural disasters and political strife in the world today my personal problems seem even more trivial than usual. But uncertainty hangs in the air. I’ve nearly gotten used to it though I’d rather not. I’ve gotten a nibble from a potential roommate (definitely not getting my hopes up there). The boy’s school will be closed for Spring break and this is the first year we can’t afford to travel anywhere at all. Instead I’m trying to plan my work schedule and activities around his time off so he won’t be completely bored out of his mind. But I know he’ll be less than thrilled by his a) annual physical b) tagging along with me to the accountant’s when I have my taxes done and c) driving out to the burbs to have the car serviced. But these things are necessary and doing what needs to be done makes us appreciate the happy fun times even more.
Emotions have been running at high throttle because: 1) My son was physically assaulted at school yesterday (he’s fine, thankfully); 2) My checking account is in the red, for the second time in as many weeks, due to our continued lack of a roommate and my over-dependence on automatic bill pay (convenience vs. getting bitten in the ass now and again); 3) One of my Groupons expired yesterday, for the Aveda Institute (because I kept calling to make an appointment but never got through to a live human); 4) I agreed to take on a freelance/barter project for a non-web savvy client that maybe I shouldn’t have; 5) Our garbage bin is still frozen into a stupid snowbank out front and I can’t extricate it; 6) Annnnnd…I just received an invitation for my 20th high school reunion, which makes me feel unbearably old. Even so, I managed to lower my stress levels tonight. It took some doing. The secret recipe involved venting with friends. Some yoga and cardio. A dinner of aduki bean stew. Sending out some pared down and clear electronic communications to other parties. And, last but not least, playing the math brain/moon rocks multiplication game with my boy. I believe I will sleep well tonight.
Five other good things:
It’ll be another weekend of woefully dire finances but on the bright side? We have some free art and music happenings to look forward to, and a housewarming party. Very excited about the opening of “Woman as Photographer: Documenting Life as a Woman” at the MPLS Photo Center on Friday. And there are great bands - Daughters of the Sun at The Hexagon and The Something Else line-up at Yeti Records. And the opening party for Tim Carroll’s installation at The Soap Factory. Always something to keep us engaged and entertained in this creative community.
We did it! Three artists, a curator, a venue, models, and a DJ - we pulled together a lovely art show and a super fun opening. Instead of catching my breath afterward I spent the weekend recovering from my opening night hangover. Missed the Paper Darts launch party, but volume 3 is out and looking awesome. Did take the lad to the see the beautifully melancholy The Illusionist, got a lot of tedious chores done around the house, blogged about the opening, and spent some time watermarking my photos and listing some for sale on etsy. And now I’m working on a postcard project for the Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy. Phew.
Five inspiring things for this Tuesday:
Well hey now, today is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day *and* Mardi Gras. Not entirely sure how the two fit together, but there you go. And there’s way too much going on in town tonight for a Tuesday! I’ll have to skip out (really need to stay home and get things done) but maybe some of you could make it to Pecha Kucha night at the Bryant Lake Bowl. Or to Franklin Art Works for an evening of improvised music with Lisbon-based experimental musician Rafael Toral. Or to an International Womyn’s Day celebration at a secret location.
