A Different Kind of Saturday

Today has been quite productive and it's only 3:47 p.m. I awoke at 6:00 a.m. very disappointed that it was time to get up already and soon realized that it was Saturday and in fact I didn't need to get up (other than to let the dog out). I couldn't go back to sleep though and was nowhere near ready to get out of bed yet (Friday night I had to work late...I didn't leave the office until 10:00 p.m.--it sucks to be a payroll professional at the end of a tax year!) so I watched a videotape that I've had for months and just never got around to watching. It's called "How to Draw a Bunny" and is a documentary about the life of the artist Ray Johnson. Ray lived in New York in the 50's with the likes of Andy Warhol, the Lichensteins, Cristo and others. His life is really a bit sad and tragic (he committed suicide in 1995) but his passion for creating art is absolutely contagious. I was especially fascinated by the fact that he is considered the founder of "mail art" which is an avenue of art that I've dabbled in for years.

After such an inspiring movie I needed to run the errand of going to pick up my new glasses. Motivated by the sun or by the fact that I had sat at my cubicle for 13.5 hours the day before, I chose to ride my bike to get them. This was quite a task as the shop is on 26th & Clinton (probably about 7 miles from my house which to some of you is a drop in the bucket but for somebody like me who has only ridden her bike twice in the last two years it was a major endeavor) but I was determined. The way there was fine, enjoyable even, but once I got on my bike to return home I feared I had made a mistake. I stopped on Hawthorne for a salad and a break to prepare myself for my journey home. Then I got the not so brilliant idea to fill my bike bag with groceries including a container of wheat grass for the cats, an entire bag of organic Pink Lady apples, a jar of juice, a vegan pizza roll and a half dozen freshly baked cookies. Loaded down with all of that I approached my house sometimes thinking I wasn't going to make it, other times thinking I was ready for more. Once I got up the last hill to my neighborhood I thought I was golden until I felt the wind. I live in a particularly windy part of Portland and it was mocking me and my aching thighs at that point. My solution? Stop for a breather and photograph the view and take a self portrait showing off my new glasses. Many of you will say, "But those look just like the glasses you've worn for the last five or so years." To that I would say that you are correct. I tried to venture out, I really did. But last time I bought different glasses I ended up not liking them as much as the old ones so I rarely wear them. And while looking for new ones a few weeks ago I found out that these frames had been discontinued and were no longer going to be available. So I snatched them up. I also ordered a pair of plain black ones but those are on back order so I can't model them for you just yet.

After my bike ride I took a bit of a breather and then the dog and I went for a nearly two hour walk to the post office and back. Needless to say, now I'm tired. Oh so very tired. But it's that wonderful post-exercise kinda tired, not the I drank too much and stayed out too late kinda tired.

So there you have it. A different kind of Saturday than I normally have but a productive one.