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Cooking: Not Just “Somethin’ To Eat”

The last few weeks have had me cooking again. It was easy to break the habit of going out to eat, especially since there is  no tempting selection of restaurants around the corner.

Curried Mushrooms

I don’t pressure myself to make something extravagant every time I cook, but I allow for a LITTLE extra time, to make it different (hopefully better). I look in the fridge, check the cupboards, then just try to put something together. If my mind is blank, there’s the cook book AND the internet. Sometimes I spend 2 hours cooking, sometimes 20 minutes.

In a field where complex variables are changing constantly, it’s healthy for me to be able to focus no simple tasks…  that are not on a computer screen. I love cooking and I regret my phases where I stop. Too many distractions that led to too many excuses.

Soooo….

Today’s meal is a vegetarian stuffed cabbage. 1 package of spiced tofu (tofurky!)  w/ 1 cup basmatti rice, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 onion and chopped tomatoes. Roll this up in some blanched cabbage leaves and put into a deep baking tray with about 3-4 cups of tomato sauce. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for a little over 1/2 an hour (when the sauce is bubbling). In my case, it took almost an hour, because I used a casserole dish.

Mark (who’s working on the house) was my test subject…  and he liked it! Best part is, he didn’t even know there there was no meat.

What’s on the menu tonight? A beer.

Tomorrow…    hmm…    leftovers.

Weekly Digest – 2010-06-21

Night Out In Capitol Hill

Friday morning was an early morning, despite having gone to bed at 3:30am. Toy Story 3 was good. Simple & sweet… as expected. I have yet to be disappointed.  Thank you Pixar.

Friday night I was determined to go out dancing.  Though I’d prefer not to go dancing alone…  well…  it was time to use my car for some downtown exploration. I took a 90 minute nap in the evening and then head towards downtown.

I ended up on Capitol Hill (where I took a picture so I would remember where I parked).

I walked around for a little while, stopping into an art gallery that was hosting an art show opening. The hip-hop tunes and crowd standing outside were what caught my attention.  Familiar artsy crowd and nice beats. I spent a little time there before continuing on.

I walked all the way up the hill before asking someone where The Baltic Room was.  He told me that it was, “back down at the bottom of the hill…   and one more street up.”  Doh!  I was on the wrong street.

On the way back down the hill I met “J”. Our conversation was priceless. We ended up walking around talking for over an hour, before being led back to The Baltic Room. I bought a round of drinks and we hit the dance floor. Later in the night some guys showed up that had some great dance moves.  The floor was packed and everyone was going nuts till 2am.

My head was distracted earlier in the night, but the dancing brought me back into the moment.  Even got some dance tips, which included, “I love your style… but you should slow down. Focus on every other beat.”  Slow down.  Such a nice coincidence that brings me around, full circle. So much time spent locked into the details, missing the bigger picture.  Somewhere during the last 3 years I tripped off my path.

Simplicity, patience, positive intentions & determination.  These core elements, in the right balance, are amazingly powerful. Keeping things simple has always helped me see the bigger picture, but only when I am patient. Determination has helped me work through the hardest challenges, but if I’m not patient, then I tend to lose my intension.  Seems complicated… but it’s simple…   SLOW DOWN (again).  I did it 7 years ago when you decided to move into a creative field, but then I got pulled into the world of tech support. At least this time, I remember how…    and it’s working.

“Slowing down”, is why I’m here. Only through slowing down can we see the big picture. My eyes are open… as is my heart.  I’m aware of my intentions and there are no more excuses to hold me back. I have bought myself some time, so I must use it wisely. I know what I will be doing and, most importantly, I know HOW and WHY.

I have been aware that something was missing and I have been searching for what it might be.  Lost in all the overlapping challenges, with no break. The funny part is that it was me that was missing. A wise man once said, “You can’t save the world till you find yourself.”  How true…   how very, very true.

Now I understand why so many artists take long vacations between jobs. Unfortunately, my situation never allowed for it…  till now.

I remember you…   you are Jeremy, right? Glad you stayed in touch, I’m looking forward to seeing what you will build out of this chaos.

This posts seems a little too emotional for a “Night Out” posting…  but it was a hell of a night. It’s been a hell of a week.  Shit… it’s been a hell of an hour!!  However, if you’re read this far then I should reward you with something a little lighter… especially considering how AWESOMENESS the night was. The most interesting part…  I present to you, the tree biting girl! One night only.

Last Night In Van

Last week I spent some time in Vancouver. An important trip, to say the least…   and I got tons of great photos.  Unfortunately, I left my drive back in Vancouver, so I only have the photos from the end of the trip.

Here’s a couple I took while walking with Angus to and from Commercial drive.

Toy Story 3-D in IMAX

Who goes to see a midnight sneak showing of a 3D animated family movie?

Me, myself and I.

I was just driving around and saw the midnight showing. I couldn’t resist. Can Pixar do 3 in a row?  I’m think so.

First Trip to Vancouver… in a SAAB

I just returned from a week trip to Vancouver.  The house was being worked on (painting, etc). I bought a car ($1800 SAAB), so it was time for a Vancouver road trip.  The 3 hour trip was smooth and sunny. On the way back down, I noticed a familiar shape being pulled up Interstate 5.

Checkout the video.

Thomas the Tank Engine on Interstate 5 from verbal007 on Vimeo.

Weekly Digest – 2010-06-07

Salty’s by the Beach

I took my camera to Rodondo Beach today to watch the sun set over Puget Sound.

Walking out on the peer, there were musicians playing and others singing along. I have a suspicion that they were a church group, but the singing was relaxed and the acoustic guitar added to the atmosphere.

I spoke to a random woman named Tammy, who was married to a man who worked on oil rig components. She had some beautiful ways to describe the magic of the sunset and the clouds… and she caught me in just the right state of mind to absorb it all.

The clouds slowly crept in as the sun set, but luckily this first photo captured the setting before it became too dark.  Will remember the tripod for next time.

Fenwick Watershed

The area that I am currently staying is a part of the Fenwick watershed, where all the water flows downhill to Lake Fenwick.  Yesterday I took advantage of the incredible weather and went for a short drive. The park is larger than I expected, and I didn’t get to see all of it…  but I will return!

Both the pictures were taken using my left eye (I am usually a righty), which seemed to help me frame the shots a little better than usual.

On a side note…  I think I’m being stalked by a squirrel.

Light Value Drawing Exercises

Travis recommended I try this drawing exercise, where you quickly sketch the light values of shots in a movie.  Pick a movie (he picked Orson Well’s “Jane Eyre”). We then found shots that were interesting and paused the movie.  Finally, we spend a minute or two (less time the better) and just blob down the values. This also really helps get a feel for composition.

I remember Matt telling me how to better balance my line weights and get good values in my drawings by squinting.

This was a great exercise that gives me a greater appreciation for lighting composition, especially black & white film.

Here’s the two pages that I sketched out. See if you can find the following 2 shots in my two pages of sketches.