Workin' Towards Oregon Country Fair

This year I decided that bringing a meaningful, well-rehearsed show to Country Fair was worth driving to California for. It also included living in my van and working with two other essentially "homeless" people. Those two, Shan and Alex, were both couch-sitting or briefly house-sitting over the duration of our month of show-creation. It did allow me to see much of Oakland, San Fran, and Berkely, which was more beautiful than I had imagined. Between the three of us, we occupied 8 dwelling units over a 30-day period. Here is the first place Shan was at... complete with Luke the dog!

 This photo may be representative of the ways in which we individually held it together for the show.

A typical post-rehearsal moment.

 And finally, here's an example of one of the best reasons to be a third wheel... 

Making a show can be so fun, yet so challenging. This adventure is probably something I will choose not to do again under previously stated "homeless" and travel purposes. In figuring travel to San Fran and back, rehearsal and random things not counting food it was at minimum $210 (hooray for Craigslist rides!). This did not count the $600 fuel pump I put in while there and a month of my time. The Fair paid out $290 plus $106 in tips equaling a whopping $396. I do feel like we created the show I was hoping for, and these photos will always remind me of the fun non-rehearsal times we had, and just how absolutely rediculous Shan and Alex are. Yay for that! =)

Random things I like in San Fran

So I had no idea San Francisco was so pretty! I've definitely done a poor job of actively seeking out all the things, or remembering to capture the scenes once we happen upon them, but I thought I'd share a selection of random things I DID capture. Like this park here... it spanned twice as far and wide behind me.

 I definitely enjoy random sidewalk art, like this beauty.

 Three vaccume cleaners, just kickn' it on the sidewalk, no big deal.

 Jeff Lefferts has a banana sticker on his car. The two times I have seen his car parked not at his house, there has been a banana peel next to it... not from Jeff! I parked Vince next to this little yeller without knowing, and when I saw it I just laughed out loud and thought fondly of Jeff.

Along with seeing random street art, I also adore finding scraps of lost or discarded paper with words on them. This one says... "Summer dancing in the winter sun, don't look now I've come undone". Sweet, right?

Another rediculous love I have, is for little dogs. I can't say I'm proud of it, or that I try or want to feel so squeely around them, but oh shazam... I can hardly contain myself, and typically my joy is so overwhelming, my eyes start to tear! Tears of joy! So much joy! Just look at these two! Mo and Lilah... uuuuuh!

 At one point they were both crawling/jumping/laying/licking/wriggling/rolling/snuffeling all over me! I was in heaven! Tiny dog heaven! I also took a video of them playing... you can find it here!

 Other things I've enjoyed while here are all of the parks, bike riding (trying and occasionally succeeding climbing outrageously steep San Fran hills!), taking yoga classes, being warm, practicing doing handstands (which I havn't been able to do for so long due to years of chronic shoulder pain/issues), singing with Marks choir class, and taking Dance Classes! Those classes have been my especially favorite thing that I really hope to continue when I get home. Hooray for interesting, beautiful, and inspiring things within an adventure!

Vince in San Francisco

In my most recent post, I mentioned craigslist riding a couple from Portland to San Fran. I made my way down here to meet up with friends and show collaborators Shannon Collier, Alex Allan, and Mark Growden. One interesting element is that Shan and Alex are sorta couch surfing and I'm living in my wonderful vehicle, home, and little blue buddy... Vince.

One might not think it, but 3 essentially "homeless" people putting a show together doesn't come without complications. All that aside, one hilarious moment came just after packing up ye ol' Invinceable Vinceinator with 3 bikes, three people, their food and personal belongings, including but not limited to aerial, climbing and surfing gear... yes, the board. I'm kicking myself for not snapping a photo, but to wrap this up, not 5 minutes into chugging down the San Fran hills, Vince, the convincingly hopeful, sputters, coughs, then dies. Thankfully I have towing insurance, and thankfully the house we just moved out of had a car so Shan could make it to the class she was teaching on time.

I didn't realize how much I've grown fond of this little blue van until I saw him get loaded up onto this tow truck... just thinking to him, "don't worry little buddy, you'll be ok!"

That night we (Vince and I) spent the night outside "The Garage" the place where he would receive a new $600 fuel pump. While waiting for the "procedure", I was in a cafe across the street and found this in the (seemingly ironic) comics...

 I'm going to take it like this... "I will spend a lifetime nurturing the things/ones I love". And though in this account I'm also spending a small fortune, I quite like that as a general notion.