One month has passed since I filed for unemployment. Did I get turned down? No way! I got paid already man, two checks… but the checks haven’t shown up because I am an inattentive motherf%$&#er. Before I was laid off my roommate had given our apartment manager our 30 days notice and that seemed totally reasonable at the time. Whoa, how would I have known how hard it would be to find a place with NO money and NO job (to be fair I SHOULD have known, but I’m not a fucking psychic, if so I’d give you my phone number and charge you 1 cup of coffee per minute to tell you how IT will go down). On the last day of June a fucking guardian angel (okay, my friend the makeup artist) swooped in and let me move into her place with no money up front. After moving my entire apartment by bicycle (yes, dressers, beds, etc… I’m kind of a badass) I settled into my new place, filled out the change of address form, and then realized that I fucked myself out of my unemployment for 7 – 10 days or however long it takes the post office to make these types of changes because my exhausted pedaling ass couldn’t see the the big picture shit.

Hunger and frustration and a day long boredom are just a few of the side effects of being unemployed, but I’m optimistic. I can make work for myself. When I’m hungry I tend to be a big whiny man baby just stomping my feet (riding my bike aggressively) and complaining a lot. Whenever I get myself down I just think, “Hey you fucking sissy, you’ve only been broke for a week and you’re still drinking everyday and you’re still occasionally getting laid and while you cry into your miller high life can in the park while reading pretentious books and drawing stupid pictures in your moleskine there’s some mother fucker right next to you waiting to pick up your empty can because him and his wife are probably a little hungrier than you from pushing around a heavy fucking grocery cart full of everything they own. Maybe grow a pair you soft Portland hipster fuck? All of your friends are unemployed too and your over-privileged ass needs some perspective. Fuck yourself”. Then I feel a little better.

This coffee is delicious.

Soon after leaving the building I rode my bike to NE Alberta St. and had coffee at Random Order, writing down my thoughts and calling my parents. The call to my parents wasn’t for money as I know they don’t have any, but was caused by a strange urge to reach out to people. It didn’t help much.

I rode to SE Ankeny and 28th to sit at Crema, reading a book, and not having much of a care in the world. Had I been more responsible I wouldn’t have immediately begun spending money, but responsible I am not.

I settled in for a night of drinking at East Burn, then Binks for their 8th anniversary party, then back to East Burn. I realized that all day the only people I had spoken to were other unemployed PDX folks. How do they survive?

I filed for unemployment.

Last night I fell asleep eating a banana and peanut butter from the jar.

What’s next? Well, Today my goal was to email local folks that may need Drupal/wordpress or just general design/build work. The question always returns, “Can we see your work?”. Alas, almost 2 years of web work have not yielded as many “live” projects as I’d like. So, today I begin building my portfolio and blogging aimlessly and poorly about my unemployment and scumbaggery. Let’s hope tomorrow the quality of my sentences improves.

I fucking love this song.

Less surprised at these results, though I believe that many people aren’t using the term correctly. Existential Crisis

I need to step it up, I used to be 14,000 in the world: Cursebird

Death Rides on my Left

Pneumonia is an infection of one or both lungs which is usually caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Prior to the discovery of antibiotics, one-third of all people who developed pneumonia subsequently died from the infection. Currently, over 3 million people develop pneumonia each year in the United States. Over a half a million of these people are admitted to a hospital for treatment. Although most of these people recover, approximately 5% will die from pneumonia. Pneumonia is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

How do people “catch pneumonia”?

Some cases of pneumonia are contracted by breathing in small droplets that contain the organisms that can cause pneumonia. These droplets get into the air when a person infected with these germs coughs or sneezes. In other cases, pneumonia is caused when bacteria or viruses that are normally present in the mouth, throat, or nose inadvertently enter the lung. During sleep, it is quite common for people to aspirate secretions from the mouth, throat, or nose. Normally, the body’s reflex response (coughing back up the secretions) and immune system will prevent the aspirated organisms from causing pneumonia. However, if a person is in a weakened condition from another illness, a severe pneumonia can develop. People with recent viral infections, lung disease, heart disease, and swallowing problems, as well as alcoholics, drug users, and those who have suffered a stroke or seizure are at higher risk for developing pneumonia than the general population.

Once organisms enter the lungs, they usually settle in the air sacs of the lung where they rapidly grow in number. This area of the lung then becomes filled with fluid and pus as the body attempts to fight off the infection.

From Mayoclinic.com:
Definition

Every year, more than 60,000 Americans die of pneumonia — an inflammation of the lungs that’s usually caused by infection with bacteria, viruses, fungi or other organisms. Pneumonia is a particular concern for older adults and people with chronic illnesses or impaired immune systems, but it can also strike young, healthy people. Worldwide, it’s a leading cause of death in children.

There are many kinds of pneumonia ranging in seriousness from mild to life-threatening. Pneumonia acquired while in the hospital can be particularly virulent and deadly. Although signs and symptoms vary, many cases of pneumonia develop suddenly, with chest pain, fever, chills, cough and shortness of breath. Infection often follows a cold or the flu, but it can also be associated with other illnesses or occur on its own.

Although antibiotics can treat some of the most common forms of bacterial pneumonias, antibiotic-resistant strains are a growing problem. For that reason, and because the disease can be very serious, it’s best to try to prevent infection in the first place.

Being a former pedicabber, this little bit of greenwashing from MINI grabbed by attention. Promoting your AUTOMOBILE company using green transportation methods such as pedicabbing by way of shipping your husk of a product all over the world (using resources along the way) to make your company look green is just wrong. No getting around it. Clever stunt, but totally not appreciated.

Oil on wood
66,5X57 cm
(Women on three feet)

I found Rubin Hirschbeck several months ago and keep returning to his awkward figure paintings as a reminder of something challenging that isn’t being made in the city that I live in. These aren’t pretty. These aren’t easy. I love his portrayal of women with exaggerated features, thick faces and joints, involved in awkward interactions on their own or with ugly men (or other women such as themselves). Awkward art.