…the who cares girl…

Photo dump from last night…

Finally Mr. Sun came out. Mr. Sun, you were dearly missed.

I have a pretty nice collection of gaudy cocktail rings that I rarely wear. This one came from “Finders Keepers”, one of my guilty pleasure stores.

I even put on false eyelashes for the occasion.

Once we got to the club, we realized that my art had been taken down. This was bizarre, because 1. the woman who sets up artists each month hadn’t called to let me know and 2. the artist who was now displayed was the same dude I bought art from last month, which was, by the way…

…a giant mushroom cloud print. Thanks to all those who participated in my survey last month (“What did I buy?”), i.e., Raymi, who guessed a print of Janis Joplin.

Anyway I recovered quickly from that shock and we dragged my paintings out to the car and then got busy checking out all the art stands.

I like how the tree painting was propped up against a tree.

I’m not into the style of this painting, but the schmear of red glitter caught my eye. I’m so easy.

This aqua city scape is by the same artist who painted  the red glitter schmear.

The Boy liked her art. She liked my colorful outfit. I liked hers too, but she asked me not to photograph her. I can dig it.

I loved this girl’s stuff.

I didn’t buy a thing last night. I didn’t have “the fever”. I even resisted a vintage brooch with grapes on it.

Cute, cute, cute! I think the artist’s name is Bunny Lee.

These are photographs that have been cut out and layered to give a kaleidoscope effect. They were very cool and colorful, and the artist was really nice.

I loved these–mini prints of the artist’s oil paintings, backed on stiff board with ribbon hangers. Such a cool  idea.

This painting had actual bark and moss for the frame.

I received several flattering comments about my outfit, especially the dress, which is one that I made. Someone said it was very “Peter Max”.

“I love Peter Max!” I replied.

It was a nice evening.

We were hungry and wanted to buy hot dogs from a vendor but didn’t have enough cash so we left to go get something to eat. As we were leaving I suddenly remembered that the other fun part of First Thursday is looking at galleries, but we’ll save that for next time.

We are both very interested in setting up our own booth together–we could totally do it, Lord knows we have enough art sitting around the house, gathering dust. And it would be so much fun!

Today’s goal is to take the dogs to a park and let them wear themselves out. Corinne and I are supposed to get together–she wants to go to a head shop, and I haven’t been to one of those in years and I’m kind of excited. You know how I feel about dirty hippies! Delicious.

More photos from First Thursday on April 1st:

I needed to take photos of street art in Pioneer Square that day, berry berry badly.

We wandered around the artist booths, and everything looked amazing.

This dude was nice.

I liked this painting, which he offered to sell to me at a very reasonable price (I didn’t buy it).

I looooooved the purses in this stand, ooh baby baby oooh.

This one was like, “Liz! Hiiii! Take me with you! LIZ!” (I didn’t buy it)

I overheard someone ask these performers if they do birthday parties. I recall an enthusiastic, “Yes we do!”

So I was doing good,  lavishing the booth artists with praise, taking their business cards and snapping photos and telling everyone about my art across the street, not spending any money…and then I reached the Mark Berry stand.

Hmmm? What’s this?

Guess what REALLY caught my eye?

What did I buy?
1. A print of a mushroom cloud
2. A print of grapes
3. A print of Janis Joplin
4. A print of Louise Brooks

Stay tuned for the answer!

Every day I take Aurora avenue to work. It’s not particularly speedy, but the I-5 is always hellaciously clogged, and who wants to deal with that? Sitting in traffic on a freeway = hell for A.D.D.. Aurora avenue is hideous, blocks and blocks of used car dealerships and quickie marts and “bikini baristas“, (not to mention the sordid history of prostitution) but there is one building–ONE BUILDING–that I pass every day that I cannot figure out.

There are always crusty people milling about in front, smoking cigarettes, with disheveled hair, white tennis shoes. You know, tacky. It’s an unmarked building, and I swear to God, the mystery is driving me nuts. Every day between 8 and 9, and sometimes even before 8, there they are, the Crusties. I don’t think it’s an AA meeting (I’ve actually been to a notoriously nuts meeting on Aurora and it’s on the other side of the street). If it’s a business it certainly isn’t marked. WHAT IS IT??? I NEED TO KNOW!

My birthday present from the Boy was three tickets to go see “The SantaLand Diaries” at the Bathhouse Theater in Seattle (great name) last night.

It was our first time at the theater, which was tiny, and intimate.

I asked the employees of the theater if I could take pictures before the show, with no flash. They said yes, and added, sincerely, “Thank you so much for asking first!” Well, I don’t want to be rude. I used to be kind of a theater buff in my younger days (high school), I know how things go.

It was a one-man show, not acted by David Sedaris, but a local actor, and it was really good. Even though Corinne and I had both read the story fairly recently (it was one of the books she brought to Burning Man–we are both massive David Sedaris fans), we still cackled right along with the Boy, who hasn’t read anything by David Sedaris…yet!

The theater offered complimentary food and drinks after the show, but we headed off into the night. It was a very nice birthday gift!

Corinne laid some horrible news on me last night–she has crossed over to the other side and she now LOVES LADY GAGA.

I know, I know, I can’t believe it either–the betrayal! She said she was watching “Southpark” (stoned) and Cartman was singing “Pokerface” and she fell in love with it. THAT’S NO EXCUSE!

The Boy thinks that next she’ll be telling us that she’s really into “New Moon”. IF THAT HAPPENS, CORINNE, I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT!

In other news, I installed “DVD43″ on my computer this morning and it crashed about 4 times, and now it won’t let me remove it. What the hell. Siiiiiiiiigh.

…for many reasons. We finally became members last year. I love the Saturday morning reggae show “Positive Vibrations“, “Expansions” if we happen to be up late, and I especially love it when John in the Morning syncs with my current mood.

This happened yesterday on the way to work, when I heard The Dead Milkmen, Modest Mouse*, Nirvana AND Cracker, all in a row with no interruptions, and then John sighed something like, “I miss you, 1993″, which was PERFECT because the book I’m re-writing takes place in 1993, and my brain has been stuck in the early 90s for a week now. In the best possible way.

* Modest Mouse gives me gas 90% of the time, but I was in a good mood yesterday.

I “enhanced” this hat recently. Yes, I know it’s ugly! But you should have seen it before.

It was white (ha ha, I just accidentally typed “shite”), with a red brim and a red-and-white polka dot band, so I removed the band, spray painted the hat fluorescent yellow and added pink camouflage hoop tape to the brim. Then I added the designs with pink and orange neon paint markers (the day I discovered neon paint markers was a happy day indeed).

The Boy’s mom offered the hat to me after one of her many garage sale excursions, and I looked at it and thought, “I can fix this.” Of course, I have a large head, and vintage hats don’t fit me, but I figure some crackhead at Burning Man will fall in love with it and I can give it to them as a “memento”. Yeah? Yeah.

I had text messaged Work Gay over the weekend (I never text message–I only did it because that’s what the kids are into these days) and asked him if he wanted to go to “Red Light” with me yesterday. He had never heard of it and I am 100% obsessed with the Broadway store so it seemed like an appropriate Gay Date.

While I waited for him, sitting outside at an espresso stand on Broadway drinking water and smoking vanilla ciggies, a fairly normal-looking guy sat down at the table next to me and then descended into madness. He was talking to himself, laughing hysterically, having full-body jerks, and chain smoking (Camel wides–those would make anyone crazy!).

I had told Work Gay that I would meet him at the espresso stand and I was determined to ride it out, but I ended up taking 1/2 a Xanax (the crazy guy was ramping up my anxiety, big time) and eventually I had to leave. I couldn’t handle the crazy. As I walked away the crazy guy burst out into wild, screaming laughter. Ugh.

It’s a good thing I went into “Red Light” alone because Work Gay was over an hour late to our Gay Date. He had to go to court with a friend and then had to leave 10 minutes after arriving at “Red Light” to take this friend to night school, so eh, it wasn’t much of a date, but I bought 100 dollars worth of polyester insanity that I will be proudly showing off later this week. Ooooh yeaaaah.

We went to the Seattle Gay Pride Parade yesterday. I hadn’t been to Pride since Kissy and I went, another lifetime ago, and since that was Boise Pride it was a sad display indeed, but Seattleites know how to turn that shit out! I took 370 pictures, which is nuts, but since I am not a “good” photographer I have to take a LOT of photos and hope for the best. I may have to at least figure out the Manual function on my poor old Canon A610 before Burning Man, where I plan on giving it a fond farewell.

This vision was the first wig I saw when we arrived. “Oh thank God, a wig!” I cried. “You’ll be seeing a few hundred wigs today,” he promised me, and then agreed to pose for a photo. I told him to be “flamboyant”.

Well, my dream for yesterday was to meet at least one Sister of Perpetual Indulgence, and thank you, Sister Mary Tyler Moregasm, you are a sweetie.

Thank God I finally had an “appropriate” place to wear those rainbow sunglasses! I stood on one of those flower pots for 2 hours straight, not moving, to take pictures. Dedication. Insanity. Love.

I wanted to get down to meet the guy in the wedding dress, but I held my ground…

…until these two came walking towards us. I hopped down and shoved the camera into the Boy’s hand. They told me their names were “Poly” and “Ester”, and they loved my vintage polyester dress. “They don’t make shit like this anymore,” one of them muttered.

Happy day, happy day, surrounded by happy gays!

I finally stepped down from my post to have a ciggie and this guy appeared, so I complimented him on his purple Utilikilt. He told me a friend had dyed it for him, apparently Utilikilts don’t come in purple! “I want a glitter Utilikilt!” I told him. He seemed to like that idea.

Look, it’s Perez! (not really)

I’m lovin’ this plastic outfit.

Adorable.

I heart Seattle too, little guy.

Everyone standing around us was saying, “What in the hell is that?” but someone helpfully pointed out on Flickr that it is the “Flying Spaghetti Monster”, and even offered a link. Thanks!

Cuuuute.

Good Times!

Corinne was feeling much better yesterday. The Boy, unfortunately, was developing a cold, but he stuck it out so his wifey could enjoy herself. That’s love!

Do Ass!

This girl was handing out candy buttons.

I snagged some. They reminded me of going to Knotts Berry Farm as a little kid.

That looks fun. “I want to be in the parade!” I whined to Corinne.

Art Deco tattoo! Sweet!

I was so happy on the bus ride home. Glowing, really. Like Kathy Griffin says, being around gays is like a shot of adrenaline.

I’m glad I got to enjoy the day with my favorite peeps.

There are more pictures on Flickr, and there are WAY more pictures on my laptop (which emitted a horrible humming noise last night as I was downloading the photos–well, at least it didn’t explode). What a fabulous day! What an inspiring turnout! What a great city!

Now I am all recharged for Burning Man inspiration. Today I am making a trip to Michaels for a few things, and the Boy, sick, has promised to nevertheless put at least one coat of fluorescent yellow paint on my now primed bike. YES.