That Jolie Girl

Atlas Shrugged

 

Atlas Shrugged was the 8th book in my summer book project.  Wow!  Wow!  This book completely blew my mind.  I hadn't expected that at all.  When I picked up this brick of a book with 1084 pages, my first thought was that I was in for a mighty long haul.  I hadn't read a book this large since Infinite Jest and I'm still scarred from that experience.  

 

 

I was skeptical when I sat down and opened to page one, but after only a few sentences, I was hooked.  Hooked like mad.  I couldn't put this tome down.  It consumed my whole life and my husband got very, very tired of me commenting on any and all subjects with "that is so very Atlas Shrugged".  

 

 

Who is John Galt?  This simple question drives the story.  The story follows Dagny Taggart, the head of the biggest railroad company in the nation.  Dagny, a tough, no nonsense industrialist, is on a quest to make her railroad even greater while all around the nation important industrialists start disappearing.  The folks left in charge start promoting propaganda stating that the worst things you could do are think and make a profit.  Quickly the nation and the world begin a downward spiral that it can't recover from.  

 

 

This epic battle between the free thinking industrialists and the sheep of the nation (who are content to die because they can't bring themselves to do anything that would help keep them alive) was riveting.  I saw so many parallels to things happening in this day and age.  From the world political stage to the microcosm of my job, it was eerie how similar themes and ideas where to this story written in 1957. On a personal level, it's helped me re-evaluate my work philosophies and helped me realize why I always find myself extending myself more than I should.  Caring more than I should.  Do things that aren't my job because they need to be done and nobody else will do them.  This book has helped me see how I'm enabling folks, so they don't have to do their jobs and they can remain indifferent. And while I still go above and beyond too often, I now have an inner peace about my actions.  I'm conscious of my decisions and have a better handle on when to accept more.  I'm also having an easier time say no.  A word that has been so hard for me to utter in the past, now has a positive purpose to help keep me a bit more sane and not try to take on the world.

 

 

I'm glad I didn't read this book when I was younger.  I had read The Fountainhead when I was 15.  I loved the book, but now I'm thinking if I re-read it at 37 I'd get much more from it.  Much would have been lost on me if I had read Atlas Shrugged as a teenager.  Having been in the workforce for over 20 years, I have that experience to draw from to really understand the themes and philosophies of Atlas Shrugged.  I re-read more passages in this book than any other.  I also slowed way down when reading because I wanted to savor every word.  It was really that great of a book.  I'm definitely a different person after reading it and I have a much more positive outlook on life.

 

 Physically this was a hard book to read.  It was very ragged at the start, but it got more ragged as I read because of the very thin fragile pages.  This was another book that I had to read with two hands.

 

 

I've deduced that this book is actually my husband's and not mine.  Since we've lived together for 17 years, our books have co-mingled for ages.  He thinks an ex-girlfriend made him read this book.  She is a very smart woman!

 

 

I know it's a big time investment, but I really hope everyone reads this book.  The great thing is: it's a total page turner.  It has a who-dun-it quality to it that makes it hard to put down.  The story is great; it's even better because of its moral.  

 

My Bike

 

My friend's bike had an unfortunate accident a few months ago.  Her bike is her main mode of transportation.  When I heard that she was bikeless for the next little while, my very first thought was that she should borrow mine.  I don't ride mine as much as I should and it was just sitting in my house.  It made perfect sense to loan her mine until she could get another.  I dropped of my bike and I was thrilled that someone could benefit from riding it. 

 

 

Then the weirdest thing happened a few days after my bike was gone - I started to mourn the absence of my bike.  I truly didn't expect that to happen.  I was physically sad that it was gone.  I started to reminisce about when I first bought my bike when I was 19.  My husband (he was my new boyfriend at the time) was adamant that I needed a bike and know how to ride.  I did not grow up with bikes.  I learned to ride when I was 12. That very last year that I lived in Central Oregon I biked a lot.  I remember biking all over the small town I lived in.  Once my family moved to Portland, I didn't have a bike until my husband helped me pick one out.  

 

I'm a very timid biker.  I've never felt at ease on a bike.  I often shriek and I wobble anytime I'm close to anything.  I did gain greater confidence the season that my husband trained for the Portland Marathon.  I would ride behind him on the Spring Water Corridor for 20 miles giving him food and drink, and making sure he was safe and doing alright.  Biking slowly behind him helped me learn about balance and control.  

 

 

 I've ridden a bit more in the past couple of years.  I invested some money and got granny handlebars and a basket.  But mostly my bike just sits there waiting for me.  My wonderful bike came back to me a couple of weeks ago.  I was thrilled to have it back and I really want to work on riding it more.  I think I really needed it to be gone to appreciate how much I truly love that guy.

 

 

It's very telling that my bike has never had a name.  I love naming objects (I'm typing this post on my laptop - the Reverend Al), but I have never once thought about naming my bike until my friend brought it up.  I think that speaks to how disconnected I've been from my bike and riding in general.  She suggested that I name my bike Lynda for Lynda Carter.  Nope!  That just didn't work for me.  Besides, I've always felt my bike was a boy.  

 

So running with the Wonder Woman theme, I've decided to call my bike Lyle Bikoner after Lyle Waggoner who played Wonder Woman's sidekick.  I've always had a crush on him and he's just so dreamy.  When I came upon this name, it just felt right.  I'm happy with my renewed sense of love for my bike and I can't wait to see where we go.  I've always wanted to tackle a century...

The Awakening

 

The Awakening by Kate Chopin is the 7th book in my summer book project.  This is the only book in my group of 10 that I had started to read previously and never finished.  I must have been in my early 20's and I could not get into the book.  I was surprised that The Awakening was never a required book in my school years.  All of my friends had been required to read it, so I figured I should see what I was missing.  I only got about 20 pages and then I stopped.  I just couldn't get past the slow pace of this story.  But now, being much older and with a different perspective, I found this book enjoyable this time around. 

 

Written in 1899, the book was very controversial when it was first published.  So much so, that the author never quite recovered from the scandal it caused.  Reading the story in 2011, it seems almost comically conservative.  The story surrounds Edna, who had been content to live her listless life with her husband and kids until she falls in love with another man.  The pain and suffering this love caused her was worth it to her because she finally understood what it meant to be fully alive.  That freedom of choice was so tempting, that she couldn't return to her past life where she only went through the motions of living.  

 

 

This is a very small book and my version also contained many short stories in it.  I was glad it was only 153 pages, because it is such a slow moving book.  It reminded me a lot of Virginia Woolfe's, To the Lighthouse.  I was also able to read it in only a few sittings.  And while I did enjoy the book, it didn't move me greatly. I was ready to move on to book 8.

 

 

I love that not one word has been omitted.  It's wild that this printing happened almost 100 years after the first printing.  The cover painting "The Carnation" has always been a favorite of mine.  I think that's the main reason I've kept this book on my shelf for so long.

Next book: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

 

Hello Etsy - Gratitude Abounds!

 

Saturday was the Hello Etsy: Portland conference focused on small business and sustainability.  I was so glad for this day to finally be here!  

 

 

As you know, I put all of the program journals kits together for this event.  I didn't sleep at all the night before the conference, because I was so worried something unexpected would go wrong and the journals would be a disaster.  Thankfully, this was not the case.  I was happy to put them out on a table and to let go of this project.  

 

 

During the opening hour where folks ate food, mingled, and made  journals, I helped folks thread their needles and steered them in the right binding direction.  Collage had another table set up with pens and rubber stamps, so folks could personalize their journals. People loved this craft!  Even the non-crafty folks jumped right in and enjoyed this DIY project.

 

 

During the opening comments, Jen Neitzel, co-chair of Hello Etsy, talked about gratitude.  I got so much from her insights.  It helped to put into perspective what I was doing here and what I wanted to get from this day.  Jenna from Modish led the sold out crowd in a breathing exercise to help clear our minds and to get ready for the long day ahead.  While these things might sound out of place at a conference about small businesses; it really helped pave the way for an amazing day.

 

Right before lunch, we heard from keynote speakers Rebecca Pearcy of Queen Bee Creations and Duane Sorenson of Stumptown Coffee.  This talk, moderated by Sister Diane, was fascinating.  First, Duane was very funny which kept the topic light and friendly. When asked if he could time warp back to the past, keeping his present knowledge, what would he do differently, Duane answered, "I would have gotten a perm".  On a more serious note, he is extremely passionate about his employees and creating a better life for them is his main driving force to keep expanding Stumptown.  I could relate to Rebecca more, simply because she makes things and I make things.  It was interesting to learn how her business has grown and how it has changed her life.  After their talk, we went outside to get lunch from Koi Fusion, one of the food carts on-site for the conference.  Each attendee received a $5 voucher towards lunch.  

 

There were 3 break out sessions with 3-4 different instructors to choose from during each session.  I must say, it was really hard deciding what to check out.  All topics were very relevant and top notch.  My sis was also attending the conference, so we split up during each break out session, so that we could get the most information we could.  We will sit down soon and discuss what each of us learned.  While all of the presentations I saw were excellent, my favorite of the day was Jackie B. Peterson's talk on Better, Smarter, Richer: Seven Business Principles for Solo and Creative Entrepreneurs.  Her no nonsense approach was a great wake up call for me.  I have some work to do!  I think one small thing I'm going to start soon is tracking my time for at least 2 weeks.  I think seeing how I spend (and waste) my time will be a great exercise to find ways where I can be more productive.  

 

 After the conference, all attendees were invited to Hobo's for an after party.  Hello Etsy even paid for the first round!  This and the lunch voucher made the $20 conference fee very affordable.  It was so nice not to have to worry about where to eat lunch and they really made socializing and networking a big part of the day.  It was great to reconnect with my crafty friends.  By the end of the night, I was exhausted in a completely joyful way.

I will definitely need a few weeks to absorb everything I learned.  I will use many things I learned in my future business endeavors and also in my life in general.  I'm so grateful to Hello Etsy and to I Heart Art: Portland for creating this event.  Videos of most sessions will be on I Heart Art's website.  I can't wait to see all of the presentations that I didn't get to see and to learn even more wonderful things.  

 

Hello Etsy: Portland

 

Hello Etsy: Portland is tomorrow!  I've been so excited to attend this sold out conference geared towards the small business owner - not just crafters.  The schedule of speakers is top notch and I know I'm going to learn so much.  

A few months back, my good friend Jen Neitzel (co-chair of Hello Etsy) asked if I would be willing to prepare all the materials for the “make your own conference program journal”.  These journal kits will be given to each attendee and they will bind and decorate them. Once complete, folks will have a personalized journal for taking copious notes during the day. I was so happy to help and I'm glad I could give back to such a worth organization as I Heart Art: Portland.

Here is an article they wrote about me and my mad hole punching and corner rounding skills.  

Musicfest Northwest - Day 4

 

Saturday, we found ourselves again at the Crystal Ballroom.  We first had sushi in the Pearl and then walked over to stand in line to get in.  The line was around the block, but when the doors were about to open, I walked up to see if folks with wristbands had to wait in that line. Nope!  There was a second line for people with wristbands and I was the first in that line.  Fun!  This night, I smartened up some, because I knew it would be a furnace inside.  I brought an empty water bottle to be filled inside.  The Crystal supplies large jugs of water, but on Wednesday at the end of the night there was no water to be had.  I didn't want that to happen again.  I also brought a hand towel with me to mop my brow because I knew it would be another insanely sweaty night.  This night, we opted to grab seats on the benches along the ballroom floor because the balcony was just too hot.  We also parked near a large fan, so we could easily stand in front of it if we needed to cool off - which we did, quite often.  The heat was oppressive.

 

 

Black Prairie was the first band of the night.  I had previously stumbled upon them during an in-store performance at Music Millennium on Record Store Day.  This bluegrass band is comprised of 3 members of The Decemberists, the lead singer of Bearfoot and also The Woolwines and the guitarist from Dolorean.  Yeah, that's pretty much a super group.  It was great to see Jennifer Conlee rocking a pink wig; we wish her well.  It wasn't very crowded when they played, so I got to see them pretty close up. Their tango was one of my favorites.  For their last song, they came down into the audience with their instruments and played.  

 

 

Next up was Alela Diane.  Everyone in my party is madly in love with her.  We had seen her at the Doug Fir earlier in the year.  Her voice is just incredible.  She always reminds me of John Denver, because like him, she has a knack of singing about nature with descriptions so detailed that you can almost feel the scene.  I really could listen to her sing all day long.  

 

 

The third band from San Diego was pretty terrible (one reviewer called them dismal).  I don't know how they were able to get third billing, especially since the other 3 bands are local darlings.  Their 40 minute set felt like hours.  I couldn't wait for them to finish. 

 

 

Blind Pilot finished off the night with their record release party for their new album We Are the Tide.  I've been waiting ages for their new album.  3 Rounds and a Sound is definitely in my top 20 favorite albums of all time.  The room was packed to see them and I was glad I had a bench to stand on to have an unobstructed view.  They put on an amazing show and the crowd was loud!  I think they were pretty much in awe of playing a packed house at the Crystal; they kept thanking us for being there and marveling about being on stage.  They were very humble.  The definite highlight of the night for me was when they played a cover of Cecilia by Simon and Garfunkel complete with an amazing xylophone solo.  The entire room clapped and sang along.  I was singing at the top of my lungs and loving every second. 

 

 

Blind Pilot was our finale of MFNW 2011.   Concerts continued most of the day Sunday, but there was nobody we were dying to see and after 4 days living the rock star life, we were all exhausted and needed sleep.

In 4 days of the festival I saw 16 bands (3 must sees), spent 24 hours in 4 very different and distinct music venues and slept about 12 hours.  I haven't had that much fun in ages.

*All links are to videos - Take a listen!

Musicfest Northwest - Day 3

 

We used mass transit on day 3 of MFNW.  I felt bad for not busing to the Crystal or Doug Fir, but quite frankly it's a very super quick drive to both of those for me.  Busing would have required at least 2 buses and in the 95 degree weather, I just didn't have tolerance for a lengthy commute.  But this night we were headed to see Iron & Wine at Pioneer Courthouse Square which made busing a breeze.  

 

 

We arrived in time to catch the last of Marketa Irglová's set.  We spent most of that time in the honkin' huge line to get a honkin'  huge burrito for dinner.  Trust me, get the small - it's still massive.  The movie Once is an amazing movie and I was excited to see Marketa Irglová and had a small hope that she would play songs from that soundtrack, nonetheless all of her songs were beautiful.  I was bummed that I missed Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, the opening act.  She had recently played a show and all of my friends raved about how great the concert was.  

 

 

We stood in a decent spot about halfway back.  There was plenty of time to wait during set up, so I experimented with my 360panorama app.  I wished I had done more, but it was kind of weird taking the time needed to record the photo in the middle of a crowd. 

 

 

The place was packed and it was fun to see folks on the balcony at Departure taking in the event.  Lots of folks also listened for free outside of the gates.  It really felt like we were in Portland's living room.

 

 

Iron & Wine is a concert that was very high up on my list of must sees.  I happily paid the extra fee to guarentee we'd be able to see the show.  It was great.  I really enjoyed being in the open air listening to such amazing music.  I'm a big fan.  The songs felt slower and jazzier than on the album which is great (we can all listen to the album), but I wished they choose to speed up the set to increase the dance-ability of the songs.  Marketa Irglová sang back up which was very cool.

 

After Iron & Wine ended, we walked a block and jumped on the #4 Fessenden to Mississippi Studios.  I had plotted the route earlier in the day and had programed in the bus stop IDs in my pdx bus app (I use this app everyday and I love it.  It's never wrong), so that I could check  bus arrivals in a matter of seconds.  I was nervous to get to Mississippi Studios late.  I was very excited about the bands we were going to see and Mississippi Studios is a super tiny venue.  

 

 

First up at 10pm was Fernando.  He was a must see for me.  I have been a fan of his for well over a decade.  He is also the nicest man.  He used to come into the coffee shop I used to manage for coffee.  I can't believe that I've never seen him perform in all these years.  I really didn't want to miss him this time around and he definitely didn't disappoint.  I finally got to really dance.  He also played 'Angelyne' which is one of my very favorite songs of his. 

 

 

At 11pm was Dan Mangan from Canada.  His album 'Nice, Nice, Very Nice' has been a staple on my playlist for most of this year.  Every song is catchy and he's got a great voice.  It was just him and his guitar which gave him freedom to change things up and he even chided an audience member for talking during the set.  I really enjoyed hearing the back stories to many of his songs.  The best thing about this concert was that we got to sing!  The whole audience joined him in many songs and we were quite loud during 'Robots'.  Dan walked into the audience and we had a communal singing moment.  It was just great fun.  Check out this picture taken from his set.  I'm the only one who seems to be moving, although I can't really make out what I'm actually doing. 

 

 

Rhett Miller performed at 12am.  We hadn't planned to stay for his set since it was another late night and we didn't know too much about him.  I'm so glad we stayed.  He was so energetic and had the whole crowd (which was pretty packed by this time) dancing.  I had a great time. 

 

 

At the end of the night, we opted to take a cab home.  We did stop for substance at the 24 hour pancake house.  Eating hashbrowns at 2am is something I haven't done in at least 10 years.  This was definitely my favorite day out of the festival.  From the grandness of Iron & Wine to the down home sounds of Fernando, I couldn't have asked for more.

Musicfest Northwest - Day 2

 

We headed to Doug Fir for day two.  We arrived early to eat dinner first.  This allowed us to keep an eye on the door to gauge how long the line for the concert would get.  We knew that this show would most likely sell out and the only band we set out to see was going on at 12am.  Doug Fir doesn't have many seating options, so it was a priority for us to get there early so we could camp out and save our energy for later.

 

 

After dinner we stood in line in the heat again to gain entrance to the concert stage in the basement.  Luckily since we alread had our wristbands already, we were able to jump this line and enter right when the doors opened.  This gave us our choice among the wall benches and we strategically sat next to one of the only two tables there so we could have a surface to set drinks on.  The A/C at the Doug Fir was phenomenal.  We were almost cold at times.  It was night and days from last night's show. 

 

Local band, Brainstorm, opened the night's festivities.  I really liked them a lot.  Who can resist the tuba?  I'll definitely be on the look out for their album.

 

 

Purity Ring was the 2nd act and they blew us away.  It was almost more performance art than a concert.  So original, complete with a instrument made out of pipes that lit up when played.  I loved how such care was taken in the appearance of the stage.  All kinds of objects lit up including a big bass drum.  These crazy concoctions made for a very dark show.  They used no stage lights.  It took effort to get a semi decent picture because the lights flashed on and off pretty rapidly.

 

 

The third band called White Arrows and they felt pretty out of place during this very avant garde night.  I didn't particularly care for them.  

 

 

Finally Phantogram, from New York, took the stage.  This was a must see band for our friend.  I had never heard of them before.  The bench seats were great to stand on and we had an unobstructed view of the stage.  The place was so packed that if I was down on the floor, I wouldn't have been able to see and I'm not a fan of being jostled around.  I was still able to dance and had a great time.  It was perfect.

 

 

Musicfest Northwest - Day 1

 

Another year of Musicfest Northwest has come and gone.  I spent last Wednesday through Saturday attending concerts at different venues across town.  I was planning on a one post re-cap, but I'm going to break it out into days because I experienced too much fun stuff to cram it into a single post. 

I made a conscious decision to only use my iphone for pictures.  My focus was to have a great experience and to get lost in the music.  I also didn't want to worry about spilled beer or any other million things that spells disaster for a camera. Besides, I can always live vicariously through Inger Klekacz, a good friend, who was shooting the festival for local publications.  Check out her Flickr set.  She is amazing.  

 

 

On Wednesday, our first day, we (my husband, our good friend and I) headed up to the Crystal Ballroom.  We arrived before the doors opened at 8pm and stood in line in the heat.  Portland was sweltering that week and the day's high was 95 degrees.  Please note that the week before, we were having highs in the low 70's.  The temperature in the ballroom must have been well over 90 degrees.  That place was a furnace! I had never experienced anything like it. Luckily, we were able to get seats in the balcony (where it was even hotter), so we didn't have to stand through the first two acts.  Mini Mansions opened the night.  I really enjoyed them.  Their cover of Heart of Glass (video above) was the highlight of their set.

 

 

Eleanor Friedberger was the middle act.  I was really looking forward to seeing her because I'm a big fan of Fiery Furnaces.  I must admit I didn't get too into her solo stuff.  I wanted songs that were a bit weirder which she does so very well.  

 

 

For The Kills, we ventured down into the mob.  The place was packed and the crowd was excited.  Allison Mosshart greeted the screaming crowd by saying "Portland, we are going to sweat together tonight".  Boy was she right. Besides the heat, it was such an energetic intense show.  I loved jumping up and down on the Crystal's wooden floating ballroom.  It was crazy hard to get any picture in focus since that floor was moving all over the place. We left that night around 1:30am so completely drenched in sweat, but on a total high.  It was really a great night.  Although getting up at 6am for work the next day was pretty darn painful.

 

Art in the Pearl

 

Art in the Pearl is one of my very favorite events.  It is held during Labor Day weekend in the North Park Blocks.  I've been out of town the past couple of Labor Days, so it was such a treat to be able to attend this year.  

 

 

The quality of art at this juried show is just astounding.  Every booth was more amazing that the one before it.  I was so inspired by how creative people are.  This show is more geared towards fine art and basically everything was out of my price range.  I was happy to see lots of people carrying away lots of art.  The event was packed!  Sometimes is was hard to get through the crowd to be able to see the art.

 

 

Besides the 100 artists booths, there was also live music and food.  Around the perimeter of the event housed booths for the different art schools and collectives around town.  They held demonstrations and had activities for the whole family.  

 

 

I loved seeing many of these stations around the event.  

 

 

Cupcakes + Art + Bacon = all of my favorite things.  Voodoo Doughnuts had a large booth set up with craft activities for kids.

 

 

Even though it was in the 90's that day, I wasn't overly hot since Art in the Pearl is under the big canopy of trees in the Park Blocks.  It's such a beautiful setting.