COFFEEEEE!

I am a pretty well traveled individual for my age and I have experienced quite a few substances and I am happy to say I have never had any addiction problems. One taste I had never really acquired until recently was coffee. I am 28 years old and I am just now starting to really enjoy the taste of good coffee. I am somewhat an anomaly I have realized. The whole coffee craze is very new to me and somewhat bizarre. I have observed some interesting things while delving into this new substance. It feels kind of like high school again when I took my first hit of pot. Everybody has their own unique way of enjoying it. Some people are true connoisseurs and only drink certain types, some people only drink it for the high they get and others are full on caffeine fiends and get angry and irritable without it (I found this out talking to a barrista at starbucks, boy do those people deal with some interesting folks).

I was talking with my friend Tim about coffee and its role in society. He is one of those people that drinks coffee for the physical effect it has on him. He said when he first started drinking coffee 10 or so years ago he had to load it up with cream and sugar because the taste was so bad. Now he says he's "okay with it tasting like shit because (when he drinks it) it just turns on that happy button". He takes it black now. Tim is convinced that coffee plays a pivotal role in society. He goes so far as to say that if coffee "went away tomorrow", people would just stop working. Tim says that coffee makes him generally more productive and tolerant. Often times during the day his boss will come in and chit chat with him on his own coffee buzz and if Tim hasn't had his coffee he doesn't even want to hear it. "Go away motor mouth!". I agree with Tim's assessment of coffee being the number one legal drug that people are addicted to in this country (here's a link to a coffee addicts' recoveries anonymous). What would we all do without it?

Wish me luck with newfound caffeine thrills.

La Esencia de Klimt - New Renderings of Old Paintings

I found these done by Kattaca. They are fabulous so enjoy...



Go here to see all of them.

Portland Day 2 - Walking Around

Today I walked all around Portland with Jane and Steve and saw all kinds of pretty things. I went to DeSchutes Brewery and threw coins at the wall to try and make the tip jar ( I missed ), I walked by a really pretty church, tried on some hats and I went to Chinatown and saw a really pretty garden. See the pictures below. :)

Portland Road Trip- On the way up

We departed on our trip a little later than expected. Graham and I got to LA at around 3:45 and we didnt leave Jenna and Craig's house til about 5:45. We stopped for gas and food at an amazing little place called “Locali” where I got the most delicious Gluten-free sandwich and peanut butter cookies, a tastey Honey Root Beer and these really good raw Kale “Notchos” things. We finally got on the freeway at about 6:45. Driving for the first few hours was super fun. Graham had a mouthful of food and stories for us to hear before he fell asleep, Craig told us hilarious tales from his daily life on the job and we all checked our facebook/twitter/texts frequently. We departed LA in a car full of 4 people, a couple bags of clothes, some rockclimbing gear, 2 apple laptops, 2 blackberries and 2 iphones. We stopped in Bakersfield for some water and toilet usage and I overheard these women talking very exuberantly in the restrooms about being owed money from their bosses. At around 9 we settled down a little bit and started listening to Radiohead's “Hail to the Thief”. At one point Jenna leaned forward and said “4 of the most talkative people we all know are sitting in one car... silent”. Hahah and that's the truth.

When we all came to at around 5 am Graham was getting a ticket in Northern California for speeding. It was kind of jarring, we were all stumbling around looking for registration, insurance information etc. After we got the ticket Jenna asked the cop if he would mind taking a picture with us. He wasn't really having that at all. He said he wasn't allowed to be photographed with people unless it was the media. Jenna weakly attempted to convince him that she was paparazzi and when that didn't work we were on our way.

Attack of the Asthma- My Healthcare Experience

I have been struggling with severe Asthma since I was 7 years old. It has caused me to have been hospitalized a few times and to have to have gone to the ER hundreds of times. My Asthma is allergy, exercise and stress induced. For example; I have to limit my time at people's houses who have cats because too many times I have had to rush to the hospital after being overcome with an attack. I'm the nerdy girl in the corner sucking on my inhaler while everyone is having a good time. It's definitely a buzzkill. I have had all sorts of treatments for it. I used to get allergy shots 3 times a week. I have been on all sorts of medications. I have received all types of alternative treatments for it as well. I have gotten chiropractic care, acupuncture, EMF etc. At one point I had seeds taped in my ears for a couple weeks. I got really into Yoga which has helped me manage it a little. Suffice it to say I have learned that this is something I have to live with and I have done a pretty good job of being able to manage it on my own. I have done a pretty good job of being able to manage it on my own, but I have always had health insurance, so I haven't had too much difficulty getting the medication I need to survive.

A couple months ago I lost my job, and with it, my health insurance. I

have been struggling to get medication ever since. I ran out of my relief inhaler (Albuterol) rencently. My doctor gave me some samples of a preventative (Symbacort) inhaler. She told me to take it twice a day. I have been taking them once a day for about 2 weeks now and they have turned me into a crack head! There are steroids in them and the side effects of that are terrible. I haven't been sleeping very well at all. My skin is breaking out, my heart is pounding out of my chest with palpitations and I feel all together disgusting. Obviously, I need to stop taking this medication. But I'm trapped. I don't have my rescue inhaler, so if I stop taking the preventative medication I will be without breath. So obviously I need to get an inhaler. Easy right? Not so much! First of all I live in HELL and there are no free clinics near here. So I have a few options. Go to urgent care and pay hundreds of dollars for an office visit and prescriptions, go

to mexico and get cheap meds there or wait until I'm having an asthma attack and go to the emergency. I have thought about leaving town to go to a clinic on a regular basis. This beats begging friends and family to get fake prescriptions or handing over their meds to me. NONE of these options sound ideal but what would you do in this situation?

This is a perfect example of how lack of affordable healthcare in this country has failed me. I have a condition (asthma) that I need medication to sustain my life. I am not taking advantage of anyone, nor am I abusing any types of drugs, I am simply a human being who can't live without medication. It has gotten to the point where in order to prevent emergency visits (which I wouldn't be able to afford anyway) I am going to need to cross the borders to get affordable medication. Can someone please tell me why this is okay? Yay to congress for shooting down the public option amendment(sarcasm)!

My Art and What it Means to Me

I consider myself and artist. Not because I think I am any good at what I do or because I think my work is marketable; but because I absolutely must "create" in order to be happy with my life. In this respect I believe everyone on the planet to be an artist in one way or another whether they are aware of it or not. I am aware of my need to create just like I am aware that I need to eat, breathe and sleep. My mediums vary as well as my subjects but whatever I find myself creating it gives me purpose.

My creative process is sometimes tedious and defeating but I know I have to do it. One of my goals in life is to be a better artist. It's a never ending goal and I can always work toward it. That is part of what makes it so special to me.

There are a lot of things I struggle with as an artist. When I am working on a piece of art I usually always hate what I am working on for the first few sittings. I find that the pieces I hate the most in the beginning tend to be the ones I end up actually liking in the end. This could very well be because I spend a lot more time on these pieces and they grow on me. I am not really sure. Sometimes I struggle with patience as well. If I am nearing the end of a piece (or what I think might be the end) sometimes I want to rush through it and stop. I think this leaves me with a lot of work that I feel is unfinished. Sometimes when I feel uninspired to start something new I come back around to these old pieces and do some finishing touches. One of the biggest challenges I face is knowing when I need to put a piece that I am working on down and come back to it later. There are times when you just have to walk away from your work and come back to it with a new perspective. If something isn't working right for me I find it difficult to walk away from it. I have ruined more than one painting by messing with one particular spot over and over until it's far worse off than when i started with it. Despite all of these difficulties that I have making art is the one thing I can enjoy doing in almost any setting. I can do it alone, with a group of people or in a crowded public place.

Someday I hope to be gainfully employed utilizing my ability to express creativity. Until then I do what I have to do and that to me is painting/drawing/sketching as much as humanly possible.

Some of my work.

Rock Climbing

I am so grateful that I got into this sport. It keeps me strong and in good shape. It's given me confidence and a sense of accomplishment (especially when I finish a route I haven't been able to in the past). It's very meditative. It helps me to clear my mind completely and it's an incredible stress reliever. When I climb outside I feel a total connection with the outdoors. I love it.

I get my gear at Nomad Ventures. Brian is the best. He is seriously knowledgeable and incredibly friendly.

Some of the places I like to climb:

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway - This place is a bouldering heaven. It's a summer only spot because it snows during the winter time.

Malibu Creek - This is a really established place to climb. There are tons of sport routes here and it's really really pretty. A lot of it stays pretty shaded for most of the day.

Tahquitz - Tons of multi pitch trad climbing here. It's beautiful. Climbing here is really fun because the views are amazing. The approach is hell.

Gym Climbing- I like Thresh Hold in Riverside and Vertical Hold in MiraMar.


Here are some pictures of me and my friends on some of our climbing advantures