Last week, Dan and I had our dancing shoes polished and prepped to see Raphael Saadiq in Portland. It was a big deal, tickets weren't that cheap, it was a school night, but it was going to be so worth it.... Canceled! So disappointed, but because I had already planned to take the night off we had a special little date night. So what did we do instead?

Rollerskating in Springfield...the rink hasn't changed since the 70s, and it happened to be 2$ Christian Rock music night! Didn't quite make up for our loss, but definitely helped ease the pain.

busy weeks make for great weekends

We had a great weekend after a very busy week. Dan served on the jury for a two-week murder trial and I had midterms. Here's the weekend run down:

We had our studio review in Portland,




After which Dan drove up to meet me, we rented a room at a super cool hotel.



We then got to spend the evening with lovely Anna and Daniel


Top it off with terrific vegan breakfast, temple trip, and Saturday night bowling with the Cahoons

Halloween

As you can see from my previous post, I have been keeping busy, which means I have had no time to anticipate the great holiday that is Halloween. It is the waiting that makes holidays so special, and this year Halloween just snuck up on us.

Dan and I were in the studio Saturday night, when at 9:30pm I said, enough, let's go celebrate. Obviously we hadn't prepared, so we were costumeless, and we really didn't feel like going to party. So we decided to go home, put on a homemade outfit, and walk to the grocery store to buy ingredients for pumpkin cookies.

We very well could have pulled a fast one and worn our outfits from last year, but what's the fun in that? So Dan came up with a brilliant idea....to put on your clothes of one color and say you are that color!

Behold...mustard yellow and purple.

The best part is that these could potentially be real outfits, and we could potentially be a weird couple that likes to coordinate, so our response to the several, "what the hell are you supposed to be" comments was...nothing, we don't dress up for Halloween. Hahaha. Oh i love being married to Dan, I have learned the fine art of doing things just for sheer self amusement.

spreading myself thin...just how i like my pancakes

Some of you may be curious about my previous post on the excitement of graduate school opportunities, so here is some of what I was referring to.

I am currently working with two professors the first job is trying to streamline the department with using online portfolios, and encouraging students to begin getting their work online.

The second job I started last week and it entails doing some research for very interesting projects. In a nutshell, we are looking at LEED certified schools, measuring classroom performance compared to traditional, older school models. My professor is working on a few other projects as well, but I will talk about those later when things start rolling...basically it's a lot of interest in "green" architecture which I is great b/c that is why I came to Oregon.

I am really excited to be working with both of these professors, they are fantastic and I respect them both immensely, and to top it off they are both paid positions.

Also, as per encouragement from a professor, I am submitting a paper to the National Solar Conference. It is for a project myself and three other students worked on last Winter. We basically studied water trombe walls and how effective they would be for passive heating.

Also, next term I will be a graduate teaching fellow, I am really excited for this opportunity because I would like to eventually teach. GTFs at UO get all the perks...free tuition, a pay check, and health insurance.

...and on the side I am heading up Public Relations for the AIAS UO chapter.

So that's it, a lot of neat opportunities outside the normal classroom setting. The downside is personal time is now really limited, but I figure so is my time here at school, so better take advantage.

Today I was minding my own business, cutting chipboard for a model, when all of a sudden someone behind me mentions something interesting. So I quickly turn around to look, and while my body turns, my cutting hand does as well, and slices right through my finger, taking out a good chunk.

I drew a sketch of what I thought my finger would look like after healing so I could show Dan without removing my bandaid (It's the bottommost sketch).


That may be slightly exaggerated, but its still ugly.

The People's Bathroom

This is the bathroom closest to my studio. What makes it so special? Notice there is no boy/girl indication, it's for the people...of all genders. Most of you may not be surprised by this sort of thing, but after spending four years of your life at BYU, trust me it's news. I lived in a dorm in which the men had to be in a completely separate building...this is a big leap from that.

So the big question is, do I use it? Of course I use it!! I don't really think of the restroom as my private time, and I don't think it is something to be shy about. I have even carried on handwashing conversations with guy friends. Although I don't quite think I am ready for professor contact...that may take time.

This weekend Dan and I jumped at an opportunity to go to The Shire. The Shire is 75 acres of landscape, set aside by John Yeon, an Oregon Architect. Yeon loved the Columbia River Gorge and wanted to protect it from logging, so he bought this land and upon his death donated it to the University of Oregon. It is private property and access is very limited, so we were lucky.

Yeon loved Multnomah falls, and so at every 'viewing point' along his 75 acres, he has carved out a view of the falls.

The Gorge

The Shire

To make the trip even better, we had perfect weather, found pear trees, and I was able to watercolor.

it is so exciting when.....

the link between the graduate world and the professional becomes more clear; when opportunities are presented to you and you don't have to desperately seek them. when the seemingly scattered pieces finally fall together.

he knows me too well.

When I am busy with school, Dan does the nicest things...like cleaning the house, walking me to school, and putting out four glasses of water


Dan knows how much I love water...4 times as much as the average person.

Football Team!

Why American Football is called 'football' I don't know, soccer utilizes the foot much more and so I think it deserves to be called by its appropriate title (the rest of the world calls it such).

So, Dan and I joined an indoor football (soccer) team, with some of our friends from architecture school.

Dan scored two goals today and I scored one..Dan also said he wanted me to tell you that my goal was the "game killer". The only reason I admit that is because when I did score the goal he screamed and celebrated so loudly it was kind of ridiculous and really funny.

Since Dan and I have been together we have been incredibly lucky to travel to so many places together: london, paris edinburgh, new york, costa rica, st.louis, portland, san diego, las vegas, eugene, seattle, and most recently Vancouver!

the architecture department funded a bike tour of the beautiful city of Vancouver, B.C. (not to be confused with Vancouver, Washington). we stayed two nights and then took the train back Sunday morning.

the tour was led by Vancouver's city planner and lead on much of the Olympic Village project. fantastic opportunity, eh?

closest thing to a group photo

for more photos visit my facebook album

enough about bikes already eh?

Sorry for another bike post, but this is a terrific video reminding everyone about bike safety

it's official...

my bike has successfully completed the Asian transformation. Yes, that is an umbrella holder on my bicycle, and yes it had to be imported from China. I came so close to buying one while I was in Japan (everyone has these on their bikes), but to my regret I passed up the purchase opportunity.

You may think it looks ridiculous, but when it's pouring rain, I will casually ride by you as you fight off the downpour in your rainpants and jacket, and think to myself, "now who looks ridiculous?"
j/k...I will wave and feel bad for you.

bike accessories

my ultimate japanese/ european/ 60s bike is almost finished. one item i was set on acquiring was an old generated light. i found some old parts at the co-op, but i hadn't the slightest idea how to wire one. so i went to my local shop and they told me they had some used generated lights that they could put on my bike...the cost-$30. the set they offered was mostly plastic and $30 seemed too steep for a used light, so i headed back to the co-op and spent hours trying to fashion my light using my own intuition. i had to take parts from about 5 different lights (the co-op basically had a bucket of used parts, nothing intact, lots of twisted wires) but i finally got one in working order. cost? $5.00 exactly.


my next purchase was a copper bike bell. i could have definitely bought a cheaper one, this was $12, but it has a pleasant ring and crane makes a great product...and i was slightly swayed by the fact that it's japanese (maybe i should have save that confession for the confessions blog).


all that's left is tune my breaks and replace the black cabling for yellow.

cost to date? $62
estimated completed cost? $65
total under budget? $35

ma and pa millson come to eugene

my mom and dad came to visit this weekend. they are the best, and i mean it.


we ate delicious food, went swimming, visited crater lake, and watercolored (well my mom and i did while pa went to the visitor center). i wish they came more often.


here's my watercolor. i wish i had more time to paint, or had discipline to wake up earlier. i really love doing it and i want to get better.

labor day adventure

Hiking Skinner's Butte

BEFORE THE HIKE

matching bandanas because we are married.

dressed like a mom.
atop that green mound lies our destination

ON THE TRAIL

Tree shaped like a sqaure. From this angle it is hard to see, but the branch goes out 90 degrees, then there is a tree growing straight out of it. Nature does funny things when noone is looking.

this tree looks like its resting on the rock, but its actually cantilevered!

AT THE TOP

almost there...
there

taking in the vista

after living in Eugene for almost a year, we can finally say we hiked the Butte

Bike progress

Our bikes are up and running, though still have a way to go.

My brakes need some work, and I am going to change the brake cables to a bright yellow, I also want the bar grips to be yellow, though that will be tougher to find. I need a bell and a generated light as well. Here is my price break down thus far:
Frame: free (used)
Front wheel: $10 with tube and tire (used)
Back wheel: $15 with tube, tire, and freewheel (used)
Truing wheels: $3 did them myself with 10 minutes of instruction
Basket: $18 (new)

Running total: $46.00

Dan's bike actually cost much more than we anticipated. We couldn't find any used 26" tires, so we put new tubes and tires on his bike. He will also put new bars on his bike and new brake cabling. His total as yet:

Tubes: $6 for two (new)
Tires: $30 for two (new)
Chain: $1 (used)
Front basket: $18 (new)
Back rack: $15 (used- a little pricy, but a unique shape)
Replaced bearings, cleaned hub cone: $6 (did himself with 10 minutes of instruction)
Dan's total: $76.00

They ride pretty well, we tested them today with a grocery run to Trader Joes, and managed to carry back 50lbs of groceries. I can't wait until they are all set.

At Dan's rate he will be over our $100 budget, considering his new bars are $28, but I decided to share my budget with him so hopefully together we can be under $200.

Slikscreening

I wanted a picture of the temple in my house, but I wanted one that was more artistic and different. After looking casually looking online for the last few months I decided to make my own. Here is the screen print I made of the San Diego temple.

I also screen printed my favorite zen rock garden, Tokai-an. Tokai-an is not open to the public, but we were allowed special permission. This garden is breathtaking.

I am selling these prints on etsy, click here if you are interested!

old photos!

i love finding old photos on my computer. i used to hate digital cameras because they obliterated the excitement of finding forgotten photos on freshly developed film. but now that excitement is manifest in a different way, through misplaced or overlooked files. so here are some photos that i have found recently.

a visit from dan during our long-distance engagement.

dan's office in london.

marriage licensce! awful photo.

while on the topic of bikes....

I photographed mine recently b/c I love it so much. This post is really for my own vanity and enjoyment, thanks for indulging me.