I have had an absolutely amazing couple of weeks. Weeks that have once again made me realize how amazing my friends are.
I went scuba diving for the first time because of my friend Craig. And then we stopped by a reconstructed grist mill, where I got a bag of flour that was ground for me, which I will be making pancakes with!
I was inspired to push my glass blowing skills further in exciting directions because of my friend Paris. More sculpture, more motivation to watch good glass blowers work their magic, and an invitation to visit her glass studio in Joshua Tree when it’s running this winter.
My friend Deb recommended me for a show, the Big 400, and I am in. We attended the funky artist party to pick up wooden blanks for the show, and got to feel the eccentric artistic fun of the younger Portland art scene (Portlandia has nothing on us), enjoyed food and drink, met some new people, and I had a random guy come up and give me extravagant compliments. Deb and I also had artist geek time inspiring me to create some new products that I’m hoping will prove both lucrative and help me get into some additional shows. And I’m planning on going up to Best of the Northwest, in Seattle, with Deb as her support later in October, possibly with an eye toward applying next year myself.
This weekend I attended Bridgetown Swing, the local Portland West Coast Swing dancing convention and competition. I ended up going because my friend / dance instructor / fellow aerial student Trina asked if I would be willing to make some of my glass slugs as prizes for one of the competitions. I agreed to take a weekend pass in partial trade, something that not only enabled me to go, but encouraged me to spend more time there, where I remembered my great love of dancing, plus improved my admittedly rusty swing dancing skills.
Last Friday night my friend Doc and I attended the opening night show and gala for Fiddler on the Roof, put on by Portland Center Stage. It was a great show! And there were all sorts of wine, and beer, and tasty foodz, and sparkly people to hang out with later. And then after that we ended up going out to drinks with some of the crew and cast. The tickets came from my friend Lexi, who I hadn’t seen in WAY too long, and now I’m hoping to hang out with her more, and hopefully go blues dancing with her and some other friends soon.
I know AMAZING and generous people. Maybe it’s just because I am a nice and interesting person. But some how I have managed to gather the right people around me. And I am SO grateful. Right now I am poor, tired, and still having health problems. But you know what? It doesn’t matter. I am surrounded by awesomeness, having fun, and it’s the people and the love in my life that make it so. 🙂