AaA:aAA route and photos

sample items moved:
4 boxes of books, red ferrari accordian, banguitar, two scaled house models, two stage epees, wig, cookbooks, costume makeup case, and did i mention books?

there were over 20 riders braving mid-20 temperatures, and a whopping 9 (9!) of those riders
were first-time bikemovers. two move-by-bikers came to help with the move right after dragonboating practice (with icicles still on their lifejackets), and one cycle-freighter braved the cold after touching down from hawaii. there were also 4 logisticians who got the terminus-grub piping hot by the time the "brawny bike brigade" arrived. there was food aplenty, silkscreen action and a fire stoked by my fabulous new roommates! the whole affair was documented by two fellas who showed up on the red door doorstep asking if they could film the move for a documentary about bike love in portland. one of the cameramen, Jason, balled up in Steven's trailer with his camera and my accordian and shot the whole thing. pure rapture!

pix by mom: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24841458@N00/sets/72157594480990947/detail/
pix by Michael: http://www.flickr.com/photos/84139144@N00/sets/72157594480063167/detail/

unrelated to bike move, i heard on the MAX (after a gorgeous
early-morning bike ride unhindered by speedy cars) about a mountain bike near
interstate ave. that was helping a car move to the side of the road after it
stalled. fabulous!

AaA: aAA bike move

as mentioned in an earlier posting, i'm moving to north portland as of the 15th of january and am hoping to do the move via bike. here's the information. if you'd like beginning coordinates, give a buzz and i'll send the info. your way! happy for anyone who'd like to join in this most auspicious event.

AaA:aAA

to A. . . and A. . . : an Alliterative Address

after allocating an adequate aepoch at Ashlee and Associates' abode, an adventurous about-face approaching alternate accommodations ascends. aliments available apres activity, and ale also administered after advance accomplished. alliterative accessories applauded (author's aunt to accord alliterative adverts).

(translation: after wiling away about 1 1/2 years at “the red door”, home to backyard movie nights, a new neighborhood with fabulous new roommates beckons. we’ll have tasty nibblins before the move and food accompanying tasty beverages at the end of our excursion, a refreshing way to celebrate a shared accomplishment. NOTE: it's going to be a longer bike move than some recent ones and a little uphill, but anyone with a backpack or trailer or baguette basket is welcome to come. grab a few coathangers or a spoon or two, and we can make a lovely winter parade!)

Commencement Clock: saturday, 13 january, 2007 @ 1:00pm

Beginning Bearings: SE 28th Ave. near the Clinton district

Ascertained Area: A. . . and A . . ., absolutely!

Dress Details: down-like, drenchproof digs describing down-to-earth dimensions and deftness definitely de rigueur.

Contact Coordinates: comment, compadre!

Mad Lib & Annual Letter

in the holiday card sent to people whose addresses i have (and if you'd like one go ahead and send me your address and i'll send one your way!) there was a mad lib from "A Christmas Story". i didn't have the gumption to spell it out in its unaltered entirety in the space of the insert, so here is the original version crafted so expertly by Jean Shepherd (A Christmas Story, p.22):

"It did not pay to take chances, and so we waited in line for our turn. Behind me a skinny seven-year old girl wearing a brown stocking cap and gold-rimmed glasses hit her little brother steadily to keep him in line. She had green teeth. He was wearing an aviator's helmet with the goggles pulled down over his eyes. His galoshes were open and his maroon corduroy knickers were damp. Behind them a fat boy in a huge sheepskin coat stood numbly, his eyes watering in vague fear, his nose red and running. Ahead of my brother and me, a long, uneven procession of stocking caps, mufflers, mittens and earmuffs inched painfully forward, while in the hazy distance, in his magical glowing cave, Mister Claus sat each in turn on his broad red knee and listened to exultant dream after exultant dream whispered, squeaked, shouted and sobbed into his shell-like, whisker-encased ear."

my favorite christmas picture is of Nanny. Nanny was Jason and Ryan's neighbor across the street in Suratthani, Thailand, and on christmas they decided to decorate Jason and Ryan's tree outside with homemade ornaments. Nanny was pretty happy with the result. i miss both Nanny for her great humor (we used to speak in a random language to each other) and Jason and Ryan for creating a wonderful and inspiring space anywhere they went. Ryan is a wonderful photographer and took this picture.

i'll save the annual update for coffee conversations and just mention that:

I A M M O V I N G
as of Jan.15th, i'll be living in NoPo with some fabulous folks and am going to try to contrive a bike move the 14th if at all possible.

that's it. hope you're well. more about the bike move soon

brief gazette

boy, the days certainly do fly like hummingbirds, don't they? i won't bore my two devoted readers by recounting the past few weeks or so, but here is a quick smackdown:
presented the final project for roadsharing for the Portland Traffic & Transportation class which ended last week, topped off by a fine time at Paddy's with Rick Gustafson as the host; organized a fundraiser at The Monkey & The Rat which went well; got the end-of-year appeal out the door finally; spent thanksgiving in sacramento with my CAL (Crazy Aunt Laurel) and fabulous cousins Pam, Chris, Andy and David; did the Junk to Funk fashion show which was AbFab (Ashlee was gorgeous and a great sport, and the costume got acolades from the other participants and from Sam Adams who officiated in a tux made from used bike tubes and coffee cups); working on the play "Private Lives" which opens feb. 22nd, and we are currently working on a Viewpoints Lab; the umbrella group is going to be called Umbrella, and boy are there some smart cookies working on it; got my stage epees back from Ricky; trying to figure out how to create a silkscreen emulsion; learned how to knit hats; saw the gospel choir perform with the oregon symphony; and am taking a Voluntary Simplicity class at David Evans organized by the Great Corey Schuster.
next on the to-do list: sing-your-own messiah, holiday crafts and shrinkie dinks; build vertical shelving for my room pending landlord approval; sew an apron; and need to find caroling opportunities. also hopefully volunteering with the CCC for their holiday bike drive.
okay, must sleep. hope you're well!

the agony and ecstacy

yesterday marked the first rehearsal for "private lives", for which i was luckily cast (performance dates coming soon to a blog near you). it was 9a-12p and a rigorous exploration of impulse, cooperation and body language/cues. we all seemed pretty exhausted by the end of it (LOTS of running around). i am ashamed to say that for a few cynical moments i was remorseful that i had to go directly from that workshop to a bike move, but once i was actually on the road there was nothing but eager anticipation for Matt's Distinguished Tie Move (also known as "The Girl Next Door").
supreme kudos go to Matt for his very tall load and to Aaron who hauled a hide-a-bed couch over the Broadway Bridge. man, i feel like such a wimp sometimes!
just one more reason i love portland. hopefully i'll be able to steal some pictures soon.
usually i have moved by myself on mass transit (new york, changchun, dalian, bangkok, suratthani 1) or multiple bike trips (suratthani 2). i almost wish i could move just to enjoy the parade and find an excuse to cook for people.
after the bike move, i jumped back on my bike to head downtown just in time for the wind storm and, with shoes soaked and socks squished, headed to hang with my family. Colleen was in town from boston, and we had a grand old time together. i never notice how much more we seem to laugh than other families until we're in a public space. wouldn't have any other family in the world! they even agreed to not do presents this year. hip hip hooray!
this morning my body revolted, however. i could barely extend my legs because my calf muscles were so tight. wimps.
and now to homework.

victory!

Ken and Don are off the streets!
Don called shortly after dragon boating practice to tell me that they had gotten their first social security check and had checked into a hotel for a few days until they could get a longer-term place on monday. i asked them what they did the first thing they got into their hotel room. they took a hot shower. got some dinner. took another hot shower. and they'll probably be taking showers straight on until monday morning! they were watching "The Dukes of Hazard" when they called. they also promised that they would have christmas with my family again this year, though they had mentioned moving back to vegas.
it's going to be strange not seeing them every morning on yamhill st., and now i'll have to make an appointment and hope to make it into their busy schedules. at least i get to see them on monday because the by-the-week rooms for some reason need some extra paperwork done, and i'm to help them with that.
we talked for so long on the phone that i was late meeting my friend Fillard for lunch. punctuality is important, but i've never had a better reason for being late (sorry, Fillard).
over the moon.
we'll miss you, fellas. drop us a line from time to time, will ya?

thank you, BonB

just found this write-up about a recent transportation-related film extravaganza at the Bagdad in the Oregonian by Joe Rose and repost it here. the apples he mentions were leftover donations from BonB the day before. i don't remember having been quoted in an article before. what fun!

and here's a poster for Junk to Funk on december 2nd. Ashlee, my roommate, has graciously agreed to wear my design, which means i need to spend this weekend making it look a little better than it does. it is going to be great fun, and i can't wait!