Jumping through a hundred hoops

Having slept right through my alarm I am now enjoying warm tea (Black Rose Congou) on yet another cloudy morning. Today will include at least one nap with my dog, a trip to see my friends and their new baby, and some family time.

This has been the week to survive. I finished up an exciting project for a great client, made progress on another job, and got the green light on a new project. I interviewed for a freelance/part time gig with a design firm right in the middle of the Short North. I also signed on to teach one yoga class a week with a local non-profit group. Because of all of this, I've decided to step away from the internship I've been a part of all summer. Things keep getting busier, which is good, but it means that other things have to go.

When I wasn't staying up until the quiet hours of the morning with the Mac, I was meeting up with friends. This included:

:: two going away parties. One involved a late night on a patio and the other had me sitting with fight club guys (not even kidding) in the middle of a busy breakfast place downtown. Utah and Liverpool, you will see me soon. Excited for my friends' new adventures, but oh-so-sad to see them go.

:: a day date with the charming Mr. Clark, in from Japan. We hit up every hot spot on High Street and ate at all of the best places. He brought me chopsticks (from that time that he taught in Japan)(song lyric shoutout) that are adorable. Did you know that they made little kid chopsticks? Because they do, and they're almost *too* cute. Good to see that boy again.

:: grabbing some of the best pizza in town with two of my favorite ladies. We had been craving pizza for weeks and I can proudly say that we put away a large.

:: catching up with someone great via a walk around my new 'hood. This friend works in a funeral home and brought me "housewarming gifts, kinda". They included a pen from her funeral home that looks like a shot. It freaks me out more than I can even say.

:: Harry Potter, which was pretty good. I loved the way it was shot, and seriously, Helena Bonham Carter is amazing. I really liked the use of smoke in this movie, and thought it was more polished/mature in general. And wish I could find a neighborhood like Diagon Alley.

:: my last Crew Game with my good friends. He's on the coaching staff and they were finally able to announce that they were leaving for Liverpool to join Everton. The team won, and there were more hugs last night than I've seen in a while. Bittersweet.

So, I'm exhausted and looking forward to relaxing with my family (and my dog!). It's possible that some very exciting things will happen this week. I will, of course, share when they do. Have a great week!

Music to fill the space between

In my blogging absence, please enjoy some free (and legal) music, dear friends. Here are the lists that Wes Anderson and Ellen Page would have you listen to. Regardless of my feelings about their actual lists ( I like Ellen's for the record, and I think that Wes' is appropriate), I'm always interested to see other people's playlists. Enjoy!

Madness at my door

Ah, my 90th post!

I've enjoyed a blissfully rainy, stormy Saturday over here. I watched almost an hour of tutorials on how to do vintage hairstyles (oh, to have longer hair right now), ran most of my errands, did a few hours of work, went to a local concert series, stopped by Junctionview Studios for their annual "Biggie Smalls" show/sale, and ended it all with a walk and a latte. Despite the rainy day, there was a really great sunset. Welcome to my "day off".

Interestingly, I did all of these things alone - and didn't mind. Working as a freelancer means that the lines between work and home are really, really blurry. It's been a trying and stressful week, and today allowed me to clear my head. I'm going to be making some big decisions this week (read: changes) and I want to be as ready as I can. There are a lot of people who are afraid of doing anything alone, but I highly recommend it. It helps find some quiet and clarity. Having great people to return to helps.

I'm going to end the day with Joshua Morrison (thanks to a new music buddy) and A Confederacy of Dunces (thanks to one awesome and long standing buddy, Ms. Yacapraro). Yeah, having great people around helps.

But really, that's how it happened

To sum up the last few days:

E.E.: "I think they might actually be really horrible people." (and she's right)

Me: "Sometimes, I look around and wonder what happened in my life to get me here. Like right now."
E.E.: "So this one time, I ended up in a tickle fetish club in New York City. That was one of those times."

J: "The Wizard of Oz fan club."
- Response after I sent my friend my client's logo, asked him if he knew any more websites that might help me figure out a style to go with it.)

D: "Dude, you were bad *** in there. High five."
- My tattooed rockstar friend, to a stunned 8 year old girl. She was pretty awesome, for the record.

J: Have you ever listened to suburban white kids with Biblical names?
Me: Who would be in that category?
J: No, that is the band name.

I'll never forget that you sneeze three times

I just spent the weekend catching up with a best friend, my family, an ex, and some amazing people that I am lucky to have in my life right now. I found myself running into the person I was years ago and realized that I actually missed certain parts of my life more than I thought. Throw a good 7+ hours on the road, some fatigue, and some music in there, and you have an introspective weekend. Here is the soundtrack.


Twill
Shampoo
While You Wait for the Others
Saturday's Gone
We're Both So Sorry

Hold On, Hold On

My "day of rest" comes on a Tuesday this week and still involves five hours of work. Thankfully, it also involves tea, my first trip to my new library (yep, owning being a nerd), and some therapeutic house cleaning.

Last week was one of 15 hour design sprees and frantic jogs across town (construction on main highways really screws with convenience). I had four deadlines in one day, and then had to teach my weekly yoga class. There's been an amazing feeling of motivation and creativity through it all and I'm so, so thankful. It's nice to have freedom and excitement - two things that previous (in-house) jobs have been lacking. I'm also fortunate to be working with some really amazing people, and that makes all the difference in the world.

I've joined an amazing group of people at Cement Marketing and I couldn't be more excited! I've also been working with the ladies at Hot Head Salon, and they've been really great. I'm doing a photo shoot with the salon tomorrow and meeting a potential new client on Thursday. Things are really starting to pick up and I'm loving it.

The past two weekends have been big event weekends here in Columbus. We had Pride Weekend and then Comfest Weekend. If you enjoy people watching, patchouli, some good local music, topless women (Comfest = the boobs that no one wants to see) and a slew of possibly illegal activities, Columbus was the place to be. My friend and took in the sights and smells (some regrettably) and caught some great new bands in the process. On the second night, we had the misfortune of walking right into the scene of a stabbing. The guy was still laying there. He died that night, and the death has been ruled accidental. I have now seen two stabbings in my life, which is pretty weird. Despite the tragedy, Comfest was a huge success this year, drew in a huge crowd, and showed once again just how much Columbus has to offer.

This week is my "recovery week". I turned in the keys to my old apartment yesterday, and that felt really good. I'm hanging curtains and pictures this week, making this little home all mine. Cleaning helped me sort out my life, and I'm making some changes that will hopefully allow me to focus more and move in new directions. Hopefully, exciting things are ahead!

Put some pants on that pride

I should be getting ready to go see a play tonight, but I think a walk and a movie are going to replace the live performance. A nap and Pree convinced me to simply relax tonight.

Where to start? The internship has been interesting. There are currently four of us (Boss: "Oh, look, my intern army.") and he's kept us busy. It's such an interesting role to be filling. We had to prepare for two coinciding events last night. At one point, another girl and I were scrubbing the floors with sponges - in heels. Let me just throw it in here that it's almost 90 degrees and somewhere near 95% humidity. Being sweaty is one thing. Being sweaty while while dressed up is another. And, you can imagine the hair situation...

The first event was a Pride event and the place was a little crazy because aside from 300 guests, the Governor and Mayor were both supposed to attend. As that was picking up we headed out and picked up 18 pizzas and pop for a speaking event (again, hot, humid, heels). The two events could not be more opposite. One had gay men dressed in their finest and the other had highwaters galore and was possibly one of the most socially awkward events I've been to. The evening consisted of us attempting to maintain composure, and we totally failed a few times. At one point, another intern and I were the only two people in a hallway. I turned and said, "This has been the weirdest night" and agreed. She hadn't even finished nodding her head when a woman walked across the hall behind us wearing a green, glowing headband and said highwaters. Composure - lost.

It's Pride week in Columbus and you can tell as soon as you get within a mile of the Short North. I went to the Pride Parade for the first time today and saw a lot. As in, a lot of men in underwear, and feathers, and wigs. For the record, no man should wear a Speedo, thong, or anything resembling either of these. I saw a drag queen hold up traffic because her hair was too tall and she literally couldn't fit into the car picking her up. I saw another drag queen riding around in a motorized wheelchair wearing a silver gown and tiara. The make-up was literally melting off their faces, making it even more interesting. There were stretch limos with guys in tighty whiteys hanging out the windows (or dancing on top, whatever), lots of exposed stomachs that shouldn't have been exposed, and men who had better legs than I will ever even dream of. You can imagine. I'll leave my list of "what I saw today" at that, and trust me, it's better that way. Oh, and, it is legal to go topless in Columbus.

So, tonight will consist of a quiet walk to the grocery store, followed by a quiet movie night. I bought a new pair of TOMS shoes and can't wait to design them! There is a ton of exciting news to share, but that, my friends, will have to wait until next time...