GabrielMathews.com | Biological Log

I am so absolutely thankful to the universe for iLan and Vanessa. They really get me. They get me in such a way that it hurts my heart and head to be away from them for too long. I suppose I should keep them around as I am selfish like that…8)

I am officiating their wedding soon. I’m going to lose myself in that experience for sure.

Saturday, May 1, 2010 was one of the most resplendent and soothing days that I can remember having in a long time.

I woke up at 10:15a to a shuffling best friend doing his normal morning routine while I gave the morning a stretch. I sleep very well on his futon.

We waited for his fiance, and my friend Vanessa to come about. We decided to go to a place, that as I couldn’t see what it was called on iLan’s monitor, I called Baby Cafe but later found out to be called Macrina Bakery and Cafe.

We waited outside and snacked on some pastries. I had a “Rocket Muffin” which was composed of an amazing strawberry preserve. So moist and delicious. We were finally seated about a half hour later. Famished and drooling we sat at the bar and ogled the menu. I chose the “Market Special” which was 2 eggs over easy, peas and onions with baked gnocchi, a salad, and some fantastic bread with more of that awesome preserve. iLan had a sub-satisfying granola, and Vanessa had a waffle that I could’ve grown old with. It was ginger infused and amazing. I recommend stopping by and having a nibble if you are ever there.

After breakfast, we drove back to the house for a brief stretch before heading out. I should say this now: The biggest part of what made the day so wonderful was the fact that both of these lovely people wouldn’t spill any of the destinations we were headed to. With that, I couldn’t have any set expectations, as much as I probed, and was thereby forced to just enjoy the journey.

With both of my kites, Louis and Carlos packed in the trunk, and a flashlight equipped for whatever reason that I wasn’t told, we drove to the Edmonds Kingston Ferry. What a spectacular first stop. The ride is maybe only 25-30 minutes, but just enough to relax, enjoy the air, and really take in some amazing views of the Sound. When we got to the other side, we drove into Kingston for a slice of pizza and a cup of coffee before continuing on.

Elton John played songs while I dozed in and out, feeling the travel, seeing green landscapes. Another pit stop. We swung by V’s old grandparents area and scoped some nice views, hung out on a wobbly dock, and drove through what used to be forest; now retirement residence.

Continuing on, we finally pulled into Fort Townsend. We parked the car, and walked a path up a hill. Still not sure what was happening, I kept joking that they were taking me to the woods to shoot me. Not exactly. Instead they surprised me with an amazing abandoned Naval base on a bluff! We explored all sorts of little pocket buildings before heading atop the base, which was a beautiful field. Perfect for flying kites and catching a spectacular view of the water as well as a couple bald eagles. We flew Carlos and Louis for about an hour or so before I was told we had to go or we’d be late…

More mystery.

We packed up the kites, headed back to the car and back to the ferry. While we waited for the ferry, we ran out the car and grabbed some amazing iced cream. I had lavender with honey. *swoony pants!*

Finally the ferry came, we boarded, played a little hide and seek, and then de-boarded. We then drove back to the house, iLan asked me what I packed to wear. I told him jeans, underwear, shirts, etc. He seemed a little sighish before retreating to the bedroom. Through the door I heard mumblings of, “I don’t know if he can wear that”…”Maybe these?”…”He can wear mine”…

I chuckled at my curiosity. Finally we got back in the car and drove to our destination. Getting wound through an industrial complex, I was back to joking about them plotting to kill me before finally iLan surrendered to asking me to tell him if I saw anything awesome around while we drove. We got a little turned around before finally pulling into a parking lot. A giant building was in my peripheral vision. I caught a glimpse of an open garage door and nearly emptied my bladder in excitement. A freaking warehouse filled with trampolines!! I completely forgot that I had just said on Twitter a few days before how I really wanted to go to a trampoline house. Vanessa had taken it upon herself to plan an amazing surprise. Needless to say I was like a kid at Christmas. I was a little hesitant at first, but after seeing everyone having such a great time, I “jumped” right in. The building was subdivided into a birthday area, a dodge-ball area, open jumping, a foam pit for doing crazy flips, and a supervised area for kids 8 and under.
I felt really old when I had a passing thought of, “Sheesh, insurance for this place must be pretty expensive.” The old guy in me took a backseat almost immediately after my second or third bound off the bouncy walls. I did front flips, side flips, back-ish flips, and face-plants into the foam pit. I’m still sore from how much jumping occurred. 2 hours later we left, and I had burned, in my approximation, 60000 calories. Hunger had set in.

We then retreated to Safeway for snacks, drinks, the works. The night ended watching old Sealab cartoons from Adult Swim and eating nachos. I passed out almost immediately.

That concludes one of the most beautiful days of my life.

Later Taters.

-G

Next up: Spunky Monkey Junky

As I write this, I am watching one of the most ridiculous movies. “Doomsday” horrible flick. Anyhow.

At the end of March I started moving my things in to the new studio. The term ‘studio’ has such a sexy appeal before you actually move into one. With that terse statement out of the way, I must say I really am enjoying my new place. The new …OK…armor clad knights?…it has only been 25 years since the virus broke out…GUH this movie sucks…*ahem*…the new space is much smaller, but then again, it is only for one person with very few belongings. So I find it very appropriate.

More photos can be seen here in the flickr set.

Staying in the north east quadrant of the city was an appeal for me as I’ve fallen in love with it. I am literally 3 blocks from Burnside and a minute walk from a great coffee shop called Spunky Monkey. They feature their own brewed coffee, weekend waffles, and free internet (a huge plus for yours truly). A very friendly staff is matched only by the awesome baked goods and sandwiches that you would kill your family for…I recommend the sandwich affectionately called Charlotte’s Lament.

Seven blocks north of my new place is a lethal combination of DaVinci Arts Middle School and Steccato Gelato. I am stoked about the middle school as it has a great field for flying kites and playing games. Gelato is gelato.

I am now also much closer to Laurelhurst Park which I discovered this weekend. Aside from the pond algae problem I read about, it is quite a beautiful place to read, eat, and relax on these wonderful days Portland is experiencing.

As far as the work commute, I am now back in bike riding season, so it is pretty easy to coast down Sandy, to the new Sandy/Couch coupling project (nice work by the way Sam Adams), and ease down Burnside to the office just a proud 3 blocks south from there. In September iDL Worldwide is moving to a great new building in the park blocks in the Pearl District. This will be great as then I will be able to practically spit on Powell’s Technical Bookstore. I won’t spit on it though; however, I will buy copious amounts of math/science/and technical books.

This is a good new place. I am pretty sure I will be here for a bit while I save for something a little more permanent.

-Gabe

OK. So now I’m back from Japan. What should I do? I know. I’ll finally deal with moving out of my place. What’s that? I only have 2 weeks to do it? Party on!

So the first week is spent hum-drumming along on craigslist and the like. I was getting nowhere fast. Finally I decided that a more analog approach would be good. I walked south out my house and within 15 minutes of walking saw a small building on Everett with a ‘Studio for Rent’ sign. I called the number, was shown the place, and within 25 minutes had my deposit down. Moral of the story–don’t forget that even though the computer is extraordinarily powerful for networking, real organic interactions with the world around you can yield some pretty incredible results.

I spent the the next couple weeks at my leisure moving things in. April 1, I was all moved in and totally beat. Work blew up with some pretty fantastic clients and I had zero time to really settle in. Then, within a a couple weeks, I had to take a trip to New York for the 99% conference. (www.the99percent.com). It was a great trip. The Tuesday I came in, I came to the Aka Times Square Hotel. A pretty sweet suite.

Anyhow. The conference was great. Jack Dorsey can’t draw. Stefan Segmeister’s accent in real life sounds like someone who knows how to professionally torture people. But more relevantly, ideas are great and execution takes time to learn. You can read the recap on their site.

The next day, I went to MOMA for the Tim Burton show, ate at S’Mac, and got a full tour of the photography and PR department of Showtime thanks to my old friend Rick. Walked out with some great swag. My feet are still a little sore from all of the walking.

The full batch of photos can be seen over here.

I left on Saturday after much food and travel, I’m now back in Portland with a weekend to relax. Yesterday I bought a kite. Its name is Carlos. I flew him after a fabulous breakfast at Screen Door on Burnside. Oh! And! Saw my good friend Tad from Phoenix. He cut my hairs….see?:

I’m very happy to be home and have an uneventful weekend to myself. Silence and blogging. *sigh of whimsy*

Next up: My new place. ~maybe I’ll write this next weekend.