Ten Years Later

I survived. And it was actually fun. A little bit o' wine to help us out the door, a last-minute check of hair, makeup and outfit finaggling, and we were set. At least physically. Mentally, I think we all needed a shot of tequilla. But by the end of the evening we had a stash of memories to tide us over for another ten years. There were quite a few folks that I hope to see long before our twenty year reunion, too

It was interesting to catch up with people and see how much they had (or hadn't) changed. A surprising amount were still living in my hometown. I'll fill in more details of the entire trip later, but for now, I just thought I'd post one pic for comparison sake to my previous entry. This is (left to right) Amy, me, Pat and Sueann partying through the evening. (What do you think of my oh-so-California dress?)

Where I was Ten Years Ago

I finally sold the dress I wore to Senior Prom at a garage sale this weekend. I think I held onto it because everyone always associates good memories with Sr Prom. Unfortunately for me, my date left me at the dance that night, thus rounding out my feelings of ambivalence toward high school. Yes, Senior Prom was ten years ago, but also a lifetime ago. This weekend I'll actually be heading up to my high school reunion. I only decided to go after a round of "I'll go if you go" with a girl who was one of my best friends in high school (and still is a good friend).

To those of you still in high school, or on the verge of leaving it behind, I say live it up. To those of you who have already left, I know you sigh with me when I say "Whew; glad that's over." High school is a tricky time - you're trying to fit in, but also trying to become the individual you will become. There are hormones popping everywhere, hairstyles and clothing styles that you'll look back on and cringe (trust me), and this ever-present question of "What are you going to do when you grow up?" It always seemed to me like whoever was asking that question always expected me to #1) have an immediate answer, and #2) realize that when they say "when you grow up" they really mean "NOW that you've grown up?" Tricky times, I tell you.

So now, ten years later and preparing to face the barrage of "what have you done with your life?", I feel like I've come a long ways. I have increased my knowledge, added a bit of worldly experience, learned what love really is, found myself completely able to stand on my own two feet, and even lost a few pounds. I still have a bit of hesitation about the weekend, but I know that when someone asks me, "So, what have you done since high school?" I'll be able to respond with a thankful, "I've become myself."

Gertie Gets a Home

My girl Gertie (the press) is finally moving into what will be her home for the foreseeable future in a matter of moments... The excitement is killing me! I keep looking out the window, hoping to see a neighbor friend of mine driving up with a pallet jack in the back of his truck. She's only moving about 25 feet, to a garage next door that I'm renting out, but I'm still nervous about all 725 pounds of her staying intact. I'm just glad to have her finally out of the elements, too.

In other press news, I start my letterpress class at the Pasadena Armory Center for the Arts as soon as we get back from the roadtrip! I am SO looking forward to it; learning all about the ins-and-outs of being a press person. Finally, I'll be able to get my stuff printed on my own press! Needless to say, I've been haunting Ebay and various flea markets, swap sites, etc. in search of great printing blocks. I feel like a virtual hunter scavaging the goods, elbows out, waging war with anyone who gets in my way for the ideal block. I am very eager to release my new line by year's end! (And yes, that does mean that I have to get my website up, and I have made some progress in that arena I swear!)

Oh, and here comes my favorite (and much anticipated) moment of the day! Wish us luck!

Ikea marketing

Point your browser over to this site for some very cool advertising by cool company Ikea. Talk about making a statement!

Road Trip!!

The time has come to take a vacation. Peanut and I were looking at some of his work stuff and realized that, whoa, he has way too much vacation time saved up! Well, I guess that would make sense... considering that the last official vacation we took together was our honeymoon and we're coming on two years. So we're taking a road trip! (Yes, even with gas prices what they are. See side note below.) And we're bringing the Dixie Dog with us! (Hence the "Dog Lover's Compainion to..." books in the pic. Which, by the way, are great!) We'll be going from Southern California up the coast to Portland, then back down with a three day stop in Yosemite.

We've been plotting the trip for a little over a week now and all of our guide books finally arrived today! (Are we missing any?) Highlights along the way:

• Hearst Castle (San Simeon)
• San Francisco (Esp. the new H&M!)
• Oregon Shakespear Festival (Medford)
• Tillamook Cheese Factory (they should make it "Cheese and ICE CREAM factory... I know what I'm getting there!)
• Redwood National Forest
• Yosemite in all its splendor!
  

We leave in about a month and I won't be bringing my computer with me, but I'll try to log on and post along the way. Want a postcard? Email me! (kathy AT bluebeancreations DOT com)

Side note: the Green in me is feeling a bit guilty for driving so much for the two weeks that we'll be on the road, so I am looking into carbon offset certificates for the trip. Orlando Bloom tried to lessen the impact of the carbon use for filming "Priates of the Carribean: The Dead Man's Chest" by paying the bill to plant trees in Scotland.

CS3

This just in - Adobe Creative Suite 3 will be released during the second quarter of 2007! AND they're doing away with GoLive (because of the Macromedia accquisition, in case you are way behind the times)! So if you've been struggling with learning that program (like moi) just fah-ged-about it! {Whew!}

Update: Ok, so maybe the phrase "this JUST in" doesn't quite fit the situation since apparently this news has been floating around since March, but I am just now catching up.