To Be Free, One Must Give Up A Part Of Oneself

Last night I saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Club Motor in Sodo. I had only ever seen the movie. The live performance was exactly what I wanted it to be. Gritty, writhing, beautiful. Everyone was singing along.

The little ball of fire on the stage is Hedwig herself.

It's a car wash, ladies and gentlemen!



And here's my favorite number:

Cramped Quarters

Our kitchen is very small.

But I somehow managed to make this really colorful breakfast.


I haven't been doing much of anything lately. I work on my thesis a little bit, take bike rides (weather permitting), and procrastinate on laundry. Leila and I have been having *movies and smoothies* nights. Thus far we have watched Lucia Y El Sexo, What The Bleep Do We Know, Penelope, Velvet Goldmine, and MST3K. Oh, that looks like a lot of movie watching when I list them all.

A little more than a week until Paris!

'These Books Were Made for Walking' by Hottie and the Blowfish

Last night was Brittan's 21st birthday (finally)!


We all went out to Bush Garden in the International District for karaoke! Some of my favorite people were there.





I get knocked down!


But I get up again!


You're never gonna keep me down!


Beautiful.

The night was actually really lovely. I didn't get a chance to sing, and someone had already taken my song of choice ("These Boots Were Made for Walking" by Nancy Sinatra). But the place was small, and the crowd was large, and the drinks cheap. This was probably one of the better 21st birthday parties I have been to. No ridiculous 21 run, crawling up the Ave. Just good friends and horrible songs.

June, July and August said, "It's probably hard to plan ahead."

I feel like a horrid waste of space today. I had a phone interview this morning, and have since then left my apartment once to pick up cheese, spinach, bread and dark chocolate at Trader's. I took a nap, read a little of The Dharma Bums (I'm trying to make it last as long as I can. It's one of my favorites), and have discovered my new favorite blog, Left Hand Endeavor.

I am in a very weird limbo right now. I need to prepare my presentation for Computers and Writing 2009 by this Sunday, as well as the latter half of my thesis by the 25th. I'm trying to look for jobs, but leaving for two weeks in July (for PARIS!!!) makes me an unlikely candidate for anything available right now. I'm really stuck and running out of money. I know everything happens for a reason, and whatever happens is supposed to happen, but right now I'm not sure what to do.

So, instead of worrying, I've gotten lost in these Ellen Von Unwerth for Erin Fetherston films. I like my alternative.

Show Me Sunsets

I "graduated" this weekend. The department ceremony was small and my name was mispronounced, but my family was able to come to Seattle to see a little of what my life is like now. They finally saw my quirkycute apartment and neighborhood that I've been raving about and am incredibly lucky to live in.

We spent the weekend bike riding, eating strawberries and playing with dogs in the park, and walking. On Sunday, we went to the Olympic Sculpture Park, one of my favorite spots in Seattle.




I don't know how I feel now. I don't think I can swallow the graduation rhetoric. I'm not done by any means (I still have to write the latter half of my thesis), and I will be attending graduate school and working towards my Ph. D in a couple of years. So what am I to do with my time now? I feel maybe this is the time to see how I operate outside of academia. I'm still entrenched and devoted, but I know there is more beyond, beyond.

A boy is on his way to work on the peninsula. He gave a beautiful parting gift, which is perhaps quite perfect for this time in my life: