sexy nun,disco spidey, nascar driver w/ mullet~






best costume ideas this week:
mia wallace - pulp fiction
rick james
slash / axle rose
the ambiguously gay duo

burnt toast cafe. sunny front windows, stray wireless. smoking hot waitresses, three.

man. this morning is full of doubt and coffee. i've got bags under my eyes.. the mark of an eventful weekend. there was a girl. i left my wallet at eric's house, but i've got good credit here. it's all good. it's 10, right? the time changed, but the time on my phone didn't. i hope it's 10. if it's 11 i should be getting ready for work. it's 10. it's going to be rough today, the thought of getting all decked out for another day of the wall-to-wall costume explosion that has been the ritz exhausts me. ugh - just today and tomorrow and i'm done. i'll leave boulder with a few bucks in my pocket and a good recommendation at my back. smooth sailing.

i guess i should go into more detail on the girl. i went out with coworkers saturday night after a champagne toast at the ritz. i was dressed in the sexy nun costume with blond braids and wing-tip glasses - the coworker-elected favorite of my costume creations. i jumped in disco-ninja mike's 75 firebird and we rolled to 'the motet does madonna' show. sweet band, sweet music, amazing vocalist - i was dancing and bouncing about. i met gogo-boots LJ on the dance floor and we hit it off. what might have been a typical hook-up turned out to be very cool and very worthwhile. she's a stand-up babe and loads of fun to hang out with. maybe just a bump in the road romance, but a sweetheart and someone i will keep in touch with. anyway, i made a friend.

solar oven 205 degrees and holding - water is at a rolling boil! what an outstanding success, and with a total build cost of $25~ i'm stoked! i'll link you to some pics soon!

unplugging.

Boulder, CO. eric's living room - floor sitting, internet stealing.

i'm working a very full week and i expect we'll be slammed! we've been doing a brisk trade - in fact, some of the racks are actually starting to thin..

sunday i was dressed up as robin, the boy wonder, and a few of us got to go out on the pearl street mall and pass out businesscards! i followed my coworkers out the front door and directly into the bar next door where we they proceeded to order drinks at 11:23 am. i was shocked at their disregard for the time-honored rules of work, but they assured me that it was standard operating procedure at the ritz. "well - when in rome.." we walked around, made a scene, and then stopped for a nip before heading back into work. it made for an entertaining day, but i came crashing down and felt like i needed a nap at 6 something when i noticed the boss and a few others slipping out the back to grab a quick pick-me-up at the bar next door. haha~

this weekend eric and i got back into our solar cooker experiment. we raided boulder's re-use center (read: junkyard) and returned with a huge light ballast - like the kind you might find hanging from the ceiling of a warehouse. this is his third attempt, and it's kind of a hybrid - both a reflecting cooker and an oven-like enclosed space. yesterday i was working inside and i noticed that the sun was coming down pretty good outside. it was late, at 2:45 but i was able to heat water up to 165 degrees in just 20 min! that's not boiling, but it's hot enough to pasteurize water for safe drinking~ really very good for a trial run~ so, last night we bought a swiss army high-altitude cooker and painted it black for our next attempt. it should be more efficient than the crappy pot i had dangling in there from strings.

here i am, hard at work:

Boulder, CO. eric's living room. stolen wireless connection (mudoji7). beer by new belgium.

you know - working at the costume shop is getting better and better~ after that first rough day, i've grown into it a little more and i'm really starting to enjoy it. the day-to-day manager is far more together and with-it than the owner, and she's friendly and fun and when she's around the authority of the mean girls just disappears.

yesterday i wore a hot-ass skin-tight elvis costume with bedazzled jewels and a sequined eagle on the back! i had on silver platform shoes and the rod stewart wig from the "if you think i'm sexy" era. the overall effect was very ziggy stardust - it was far out and people loved it! one guy walked in the store and saw me and said, "that! i want that!" it's weird, but i think the costume helped me gain the favor of the manager - she say's i'm "on it" and she gives me jobs to do that she says she needs done right and once-and-for-all, like organizing the nylons. (until yesterday, i didn't know a damn thing about nylons, but now i'm an expert~ we've got tights in all colors - we've got some with dollar signs, striped patterns, hippy patterns. we've got fish-nets, fence-nets, and body stockings in all colors, we've got garter style hose, thigh highs, back seems of lace, ribbons, and rhinestones. we've even got fish nets with holes already torn in them!)

today i was captain jack sparrow of the pirates of the Caribbean! we got a few wigs in yesterday, so i wanted to use one before we sold out. i don't know what i'm going to do tomorrow.. better get there early.

best costume ideas so far:
4 frat guys as The Fanta Girls - red, yellow, orange, and purple~
Marie Antoi-Marionette
Marla Singer from "fight club"
Condoleezza Rice

best question:
"do you have something a little slutty-er?" (sure- let me direct you to the slut section. were you thinking naughty girl scout or sex-pot cop? we also have a fine selection of nurses)

Boulder, CO. - snowing like it means it. Burnt Toast Cafe. homey, front room atmosphere. great breakfasts, bottomless coffee, stolen wireless.

oh, man! days of solid hiking and rock climbing~ so much fun! we were out on the wall in the sun, rain, cold, and dark! it was cool - alina and eric's brother chris are both pretty good. chris would lead climb a wall and clip into the bolts as he went. when he got to the top, he'd run the rope through the bolts at the top of the route and come back down. then we would take turns climbing up one after another with someone belaying from the bottom. they know their stuff, so we were safe and i learned a lot. it's hard work, man - we were drinking beer through straws because our arms were so tired~

yesterday i worked my first day at the costume shop! i got suited up, and spent some time on the floor. it was rough - i couldn't find anything.. it's such a huge place and their organization is bunk! later, i got to stock up some stuff and spent the day learning the lay of the land. eric and alina popped in to check on me and look around. they couldn't get over it! "what a fun job!" - well, it would be if not for the stone-cold bitches that work there. hardened over a decade of service, these women have come to hate everyone and everything.. especially new people or temporary employees. they spent the day pushing me around and being generally unpleasant. "hey - want a job to do? can you run across the street and pick up food for me?" - i rose above it, and i was as pleasant as i could be, but already i'm happy that this is just a temporary thing.

here i am in my costume posing with a rack of prosthetics - i'll keep these coming~

goofing on the monkey traverse


the crew roped up in the rain

Boulder, CO. Buchanan's Coffee Pub. lousy bagel&cream cheese $270, free wireless. obnoxious patrons broadcasting their stupidity at top volume.

back in boulder! they canceled my flight and failed to tell me about it - fortunately airtran made good on it and moved me to another carrier, a direct flight in fact, so i made it in with no problems. i took a bus from the airport in denver to eric's front porch - pretty fucking convenient, yo.

i was glad that i was able to go back for my grandma's service. it was good to see everyone all together. it was hard, but it was all very positive.

i'm meeting with my boss from the halloween shop again tonight - it's possible that this is the second of two training meetings, but far more likely, she's just forgotten that i've already been through training and it's the same thing.. i'll find out tonight - but i'm anxious to get started!! i walked back into that hostel today and pestered them further for a room in exchange for my service. it seems that my chances aren't very good - but if i keep this up, they may relent. i hope so.

alina's coming to visit us this weekend! she'll be here for a few days on her fall break and she wants to go rock climbing! i don't know much about it, but it'll be outdoors and it'll be fun~

the flatirons!

chelsea, mi. home. upstairs with coffee on an old desk-top made by me.

a spent a few days in boulder. the time flew by without a dull moment - getting caught up with eric and meredith will be a big project and there are days and days more to go. we covered the essential gossip and i got a few long hikes worth of perma-culture specifics (permanent or sustainable agriculture). eric is involved in serveral grass-roots organizations aimed at supporting and promoting localization of food sources and responsible farming practices. very interesting stuff - and he practices what he preaches! he's got a garden on a community plot, he volunteers on local farms that rely on man-power, and he's got worms that eat his garbage! it's all new to me and i'm learning a lot.

AND i got a job!! i spent my first full day in boulder running all over town applying for jobs at every place that would take my resume. i was juggling the moral dilemma of only taking a job for a few weeks before moving on, until i saw that the costume shop in town had a help wanted sign in the window. haza! they will only want me through halloween to help out with their busy season and then i can leave! i was a little too enthusiastic when i went in there and i think i annoyed some of the staff, but the boss lady responded well and i got me a job~ i had training and got introduced to a fraction of the store. it's a big place - and they have EVERYTHING! it's awesome, man.. i'm excited, and for the first time in 6 months i'll have some income.

i flew back to michigan last night and very soon we're going to jump in the car and take off to pentwater. it's going to be a rough few days for my family, but coming home i see that my mom and dad are really doing ok. it sucks, but i guess this sort of thing actually gets easier with practice. thank you all for your kind words and for keeping us in your thoughts.

Santa Fe, NM. SF international hostel - converted from an old adobe motel. dorms $15, food in the kitchen, wireless $2/day - lousy reputation, but not all that bad, really.

by the way, that "official map" of route 66 was a complete piece of shit! it was like one of those cartoonie maps you see in theme parks - cute, but effectively useless. i drove off into the bleak nothingness of texas and put myself an hour off course before realizing that i'm an idiot. i eventually made it back to reality - and i use the term loosely - and then took the interstate all the way to albuquerque. i still got a chance to revel in the absurdity of the route 66 kitsch~ i pulled over to peruse through some of the bigger, more obscene gift shops - even bought me a hat!

i rolled in and got myself set up at the route 66 youth hostel in albuquerque. the lady behind the desk gave me a very thorough tour at top speed - the whole thing only took about 5 minutes and included all the light switches.. impressive. it was the first hostel i've ever stayed at that had mandatory chores - i emptied out the recycling bins into the appropriate containers outside. i hung around the hostel with some of the random people that stay at these places. then i changed into blue jeans and put on my wing-tip shoes - set on wearing my hat out on the town. i walked around, had a micro-brew.. not much to report.

the next day i got up and made eggs and toast for breakfast (provided by the hostel - score). then i jumped in my car and drove out to hike around in the wilderness area outside of town. i did about 10 miles on the la luz trail up to a scenic view point - couldn't do the full 14 to the ridge because i was running out of water and my feet were protesting. it was big, dry, beautiful new mexico. i didn't see any bears or rattle snakes, but i did see a road runner and some fatty-fat lizards~

last night i stayed in santa fe. i walked in and dropped my stuff and this russian guy, maxum, grabbed me to drive up the mountains and watch the sunset - if i was only staying one night i simply had to go! it was a little overcast and we were a little late - but it was cool. we met some girls with dogs up there and went out to meet their friends for beers and mexican food. good fun. i was wrecked from that hike and crashed early. this morning it was more chores (washed the sinks, counter, and mirror) and more provided breakfast!

today i drive on to boulder, colorado to see eric and meredith! this will be my last bit of driving for a little while. the plan is to stay there for a few weeks and get some work'n in if i can..

last weekend, my grandma shannon passed away. i will be flying back to michigan on friday to be with my family and attend her service monday in hart, MI. she was loved and will be missed.

the hat.

the la luz trail

Amarillo (pronounced, amarilla - with the 'L' sound by the locals), TX. KOA Kampground - tent sites $22, map of route 66 $5, free wireless.

i did get to see some sweet music in austin! the first night i went out with these 2 ausie blokes to see jose gonzalez, an independent classical guitarist with a huge underground following! he was cool - it was such a chill show.. groovy. the second night i went out with a cool dude from dalas to see magnolia electric co. - solid alt-country, progressive and interesting song writing and instrumentation with its roots in old country music.

i finally got out and played music on the street! there were some other street performers and fortune tellers and the like down on 6th street, so i asked them and they said that it was ok to set up and play. didn't get too much love - only a few bucks, really. i guess with busking legal, people have just grown to ignore performers.. eh.

i drove a far-ass way yesterday - all the way to amarillo~ i got in after dark and stopped at the BIG TEXAS steak house under the sound of a giant cowboy. everything was bigger inside and there was even a shooting gallery! if you can eat a 72oz steak - it's free, but i've heard the attempt is regrettable and failure is to be out $50.

so i've met up with route 66 and i bought my official map! i'm driving west today on into new mexico!