GabrielMathews.com | Biological Log

Wow…it’ s been a while. The latter part of March and all of April have been an absolute cluster of craziness at home and at work. With that enough apologizing, and more Japanyness.

So where was I? Ah, yes. Wednesday and Thursday. Let’s start with the play-list:

March 10:

• Tresspassers William_Different Stars
• Moby_Everything is Wrong
• James Brown_The Godfather
• Saul Williams_Amethyst Rockstar
• Yoav_Charmed & Strange
• Sage Francis_A Healthy Distrust
• Unkle_Never, Never Land
• Radiohead_Talk Show Host
• Serart_Self Titled

March 11 (The longest day of my life, literally):

• Andres Segovia_The Art of Segovia 1&2
• Radiohead_In Rainbows
• Mirror’s Edge_Original Score
• Me & You & Everyone We Know_Original Soundtrack
• DJ Shadow_The Outsider
• Sage Francis_The Human Death Dance
• Solar Fields_Randomized Tracks
• Sarah McLachlan_Surfacing
• M83_Before the Dawn Heals Us
• Dieselboy_The 6ixth Session
• Jose Gonzalez_Veneer

Alright. With that outta the way. Let’s talk the experience.

So Wednesday I got up in the morning. (a good time to do it). I walked over to wake up at Odaiba park some more. I was hoping to get into the science and tech museum but they opened a little later that I had time for. I wafted back to the conference hall to have lunch with my co-worker. I noticed a wonderful social etiquette behavior take place within the hall. Everyone eating on the benches faced away from each other.

I was one of 2 a-holes that decided to not follow suit. It felt pretty punk rock.

So through lunch I could barely focus on the conversation I was having with Ed, the co-worker. My mind was filled with all of the places I wanted to go and see. The bento tasted a little gamey, but made for good walking fuel. I then bowed out of the conference and walked to the local mall to do a retail audit and begin an adventure of architecture and yumminess.  I can’t say much about the mall  experience (if you are super interested, some of the photos from that can be seen in the architecture folder here.)

After the walk to the mall, I was feeling a little beat. So I came to the hotel room to rest a bit and watch some TV.

Funny thing about television. It encapsulates and compresses culture in such a fantastically truncated way, that you can really see the boiled down stereotypes and cultural symbolism in its purest uncut form. The above was from a kids show explaining the turning of the seasons from winter to spring.

After my break, I did a freaking huge architecture walk from deep Ariake to deep Ginza. It was about a 6 mile walk in total, but because of my pacing, it felt to be around 10 miles. Too many photos to post here, but again the link to the architecture set is here.

One of my favorites though was the eternal chase I had trying to see the Eiffel Tower. It must have been huge. On the skyline it appears to be right across the bridge, but the closer I thought I was getting, the further it appeared. It played as my leader while I scouted other awesome buildings.

Lots of buildings seen. My favorite shot of the evening below:

I was outside of an athletic club. The sun had set and I was beat. Time to head to the hotel, pack and prepare for a long ass day of travel.

In the morning, I woke up and stumbled into the bathroom and spotted a wonderful little refraction of rainbow on the bathroom wall. A nice little morning goodbye from my neat little bathroom before I headed back.

Long story short as far as the ‘commute’ back to Portland, I traveled back to Narita airport and waited a good chunk of time for my flight before flying for -8 hours. I ate lots of noodles, shopped a little, and drew. Milk tea is great.  I took off at 5P and landed at 9A that same day. Such a strange and long day. I came home to a completely f’d circadian rhythm and a short fuse of a timeline to find a new place to live…(but I’ll leave that for a future blog).

To summarize, Japan was an amazing experience. I have a hunch I’ll be back there in the future for business or recreation and have another humbling experience in one of the most polite and ‘smart’ places I’ve ever been. Thanks for reading.

I’ve noticed something interesting. Something my counselor might call selective compartmentalization through internal auto-didactic function.

Mouth-full yeah. Regardless.

I picked up my guitar again. I picked up my paint brush again. I picked up my cutting board again.

I’ve been doing a ton of quick photoshop illustrations to ‘check my buff’ and see how my understanding of form is holding up. I don’t normally draw in the computer environment as there is something to be said about old school media. Not that PS doesn’t have its place. I just enjoy the tangible sensation of creating with wet/dry media.

I am trying to improve and true-out my interests through practicing the things I enjoy.  It felt like a bizarre feat to successfully strum out some Segovia-esque rhythms and have it sound half decent. I listened to him a lot today while walking.

Today our landlady was showing the condo to perspective tenants so I had to be scarce. I got up this morning and walked to get some coffee. After that, I walked all the way over to the foot of OHSU and looked at the homes that were for sale. I don’t really have 1.2 million dollars, but I can enjoy the thought of that view. Holy crap.

Eventually my legs took me to the office and I did a little work before retreating to Backspace for some lunch (Intermittently perusing the awesome art that is up over at Compound). I recommend the “My Sweetheart Salad”; I’ve never had heart of palm before. Tasty! Then I walked through the Lloyd Center Mall before taking refuge in the park where I sat for the better part of 2 hours just enjoying the sun and the music that filled my head. This was concluded with a viewing of Shutter Island. I must say, this was a better flick than I anticipated.

Now I am home, typing, digesting AWESOME leftover mushroom soup from yesterday. I must say, this is a great recipe!

Tomorrow I have to get up early for my dentist appointment (10 years since last check up) eek!

Have a splendid evening kiddos.

~G

This is such a bizarre and interesting time.

I’m not one to let the readers of this blog, or the readers that are ported over from facebook, into my deeper personal affairs…because frankly, it is silly and unnecessary. However, I suppose it is appropriate for certain things…?…non?

For a little over the last 5 years I was dating a wonderful girl named Lesa. Her links are on the side bar…and you should click on them rapidly to see awesome pictures, stories, and be inspired. We’ve since evolved away from each other. Living together in that circumstance, among many other mental and physical issues that I deal with on a day to day basis have made life a little tricky lately. Lesa told me tonight that she is going to move out in a bit as it will make our friendship easier and her head hurt a little less. I totally understood…so we are trying to figure out where we are both going to live. She wants to stick around “here”…and I think I might either move a little closer in to downtown, or I might take up temporary shelter in a shared home situation or something to save a little green. Either way.

With that said, things just got a little more real. I am entrenching myself in work and creating a social wall. I was thinking about peoples walls on the way home. Some of my friends have walls made of cider block and steel while others have walls that are kind of like Tribbles. The tribble type wash you over with adorable character traits. They distract you with that so you’ll never be able to touch their reality; because…well…that is what those walls are built for. After analyzing this further. I realized that my wall consists mostly of a steep muddy grass hill that is so slippery it is almost not worth the effort so you’ll just walk around the side and avoid me altogether. I like the people that walk on my grassy hill; the people that have good boots, aren’t afraid to get muddy and can appreciate the view from the top once they’ve gotten there. That sounds a little contrived, but again, this is my blog…and I’ll say what I want.

“And all the effort that it took to get here in the first place, and all the effort not to let the effort show”…EBTG/Downhill Racer/Temperamental…great track. Look it up.

Part of me wants to disappear. I don’t know where I could go that my internal predator couldn’t find me. I need to unplug…to much screen glare, polygons, code, and pixels. I want to go camp. Get eaten by a bear…that’d be nuts. Poorly play my crappy guitar on a beach out the back of my van in the spring…too cliche. I could just shut up and get off my ass…but that wouldn’t be as self gratifying as complaining.

My thumb is no longer mutilated. This is a very significant thing. I remember exactly where I was and how old I was when I started doing this habit. I was 4 years old in the front seat of my mom’s car in Dearborn, Michigan driving to a fast food joint. I saw a little dry skin on my thumb and ripped it clean off. Ever since, that emotional connection to such a seemingly insignificant moment was one of few positive moments I’ve had with that lady. Comfort comes from the weirdest places. I think past that, this is the first time in my life that I concurrently have been single, out of school, with a job, and not much connection with anybody in a long long time. Perhaps since I was 4.

Life is silly.