Sunday, November 30, 2008

Bake Off

For Thanksgiving I made six pies--four pumpkin, one apple, and one marionberry. The first pumpkin pie had a very thick crust and the second one very thin--not by design! By the time I got to the last two pumpkin pies, I was starting to get the hang of it. I also helped to make 5 dozen dinner rolls. This was my first Thanksgiving dinner at home in several years, and we had two of 'em! One on Thursday at my sister Penny's and the other at my brother David's. My brother works at the airport and didn't have the holiday off so they had dinner at his house on Saturday. The first dinner had more people (around 24) and was to some degree more chaotic. The second dinner was calmer but no less enjoyable. Both had good food, good company, and a small portion of family drama. I found the baking to be somewhat exhausting, but I think I'll keep at it. Kneading bread is a very meditative activity.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Thankful

Last year a few days before Christmas, my mother came down with a bad bug that put her in the hospital. She was diagnosed with pneumonia but seemed to be on the mend. On Christmas Day she suddenly went into respiratory failure and had to be put on a ventilator for several days. Her situation was touch and go for a while but she recovered, thank God, and was able to go home shortly after New Year's. Her health has remained frail over the past year. She has good spells and bad spells, but all in all she has been holding her own. We all worry when she is not feeling well, and right now she is suffering from a cold. This morning, I went out to her house to help make dinner rolls with her and my Aunt Georgia for Thanksgiving dinner, which we will have at my sister Penny's house near Bonneville Dam. There was a little friction over cooking procedures, but the rolls got made and tasted excellent. My aunt rated them a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10. My mother felt worse in the afternoon and had to see her doctor, but was feeling better by evening. Tomorrow, I will go out and make pumpkin pies, with my mother's guidance. On Thursday, I will make an apple pie, which I have made once before. I am happy to learn how to do these things, and even happier to help my mother out. I'm thankful that she is still with us.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Baby Alexander

Seen here is the latest addition to the Gaynor family, Alexander Dominico Gaynor, born in Kalispell, MT to proud parents David and Ilaria Gaynor . Holding him is my sister-in-law, Rebecca, and I assume the photo is by my brother Phil--they are proud GRANDparents! Welcome to the family, little one! Alexander is, by the way, my mother's maiden name. The Alexander family goes back to the days of the Pilgrims and the settlement at Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

True Blue



Yesterday I met my friend Jon, for coffee at the True Brew Cafe in Portland. It's just off Powell on Milwaukie Ave, across from Brooklyn Park and down the street from the Aladdin Theater. Several months ago, Jon moved his elderly mother into a duplex apartment next to his house so he can look after her. Jon lives just a few blocks away so True Brew is a good place for us to meet in the neighborhood. They also also sell used books and have comfy chairs placed all around the bookshop area. Jon and I go way back and he is one of my dearest friends.

Later, I met up with another friend of mine, Steve. He and I have also known each other for many years, and we have shared a lot of experiences. We talked about flying down to New Orleans in late March. I'm fortunate to have a free air ticket coming from a rewards account. I want to check out the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival, which is held annually. We also talked about possibly driving from New Orleans to Key West, Florida, where Tennessee had a home for many years.

Just now, I discovered that there is by coincidence a True Brew Cafe in New Orleans (the second picture above). They also have a theater and cabaret. I will definitely check it out when I get down there.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Fortune's Other Face

I went to bed feeling upbeat last night, but woke up with doubts. There were questions in my mind, such as "How can I do the acting thing in Portland when I have no contacts, know no one in the theater scene here?" Then I had quite a panic because I thought I'd missed a shift working. I've started working online part time as a rater for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) writing section. I was looking over my schedule, and saw I was down for four hours on the 21st. In the middle of writing a profound apology to them, I realized that it was for December 21, not November. Whew! But it revealed my state of mind to me--a bit unsettled, still searching for my way. After coffee and leftover Chinese food (Thanks Connie and Jim), I again feel more upbeat. Doubts creep in and then they dissipate, just like dark clouds of nature.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Fortune's Smile

In my new digs tonight. Got my bed. My room is warm and comfortable. My brother Gary is a good guy. Now, it's time for me to see what kind of life I can have here. Got a fortune from a cookie in LA that said "YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT - GET TO WORK TO MAKE IT MATERIALIZE." This is a list of things I want, not necessarily in order of priority:

I want to help my parents.
I want to spend time with family and friends.
I want to earn a reasonable living.
I want to act.
I want to direct.
I want to conduct acting workshops.
I want to write.
I want to develop a play based on the life of Tennessee Williams.

Time to go to work!

p.s. If anyone can put me in touch with anyone else doing theater in the Portland, OR area, I will greatly appreciate the contact.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Take Me to the River

Today was a typical NW rainy day in Clark County, Washington. Living in California, I missed days like this, which were few and far between. The Fall leaves also seem particularly vibrant this season, with the hillsides colored gold and green with splashes of red. This morning, my stepfather and I dropped my mom off at my cousin Helen's (Hunny'z) beauty salon and took a ride up to Woodland, WA. He wanted to check out some of his old fishing spots. He hasn't been out fishing for a couple of years because of not wanting to leave my mother alone for long due to her poor health. We drove along the Lewis River on top of the dike, and then the Columbia. I was suprised that we could see St. Helens, Oregon across the river. I lived there for a few years when I was a child. It looked very picturesque, with the courthouse and the marina in view. We only saw two people out fishing, and my father commented that it was probably a little too early for the salmon run. He told stories about his old fishing buddies, some of whom have passed on. I haven't done much fishing in my life, other than catching a trout once and going smelt dipping a couple of times. Maybe I'll go out fishing with my stepdad one of these days.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

One Man's Treasure

Today I went to a junkyard outside Orchards, which is an area on the eastern side of Vancouver, WA. I was looking for a tire and wheel (preferably attached to each other) for my step-father's Ford pickup. His spare tire disappeared about a month ago, around the time one of his nephews headed south to Arizona after laying over at my parents' house for some days. Since the nephew also had a Ford pickup and was lacking a spare tire, we speculated that he might have "unofficially" borrowed my dad's for a while. My brother Gary had bought a tire and wheel at the junkyard, but it didn't fit, so I went to see if I could find another one. I was planning on using the pickup on Friday to collect a refurbished box springs and mattress from the Dixie Mattress Company in Portland, and thought it would be a good idea to have a spare tire. This was not a big deal, except I'm not very mechanical, and found myself a somewhat out of my element in a junkyard. And there were a lot of cars in that junkyard. In spite of being mechanically challenged, I do think I have a talent for finding things. I eventually located a mounted tire that looked promising, loaded it up, and headed for home. Lo and behold--it fit! Happy days! Actually, I liked going to the junkyard. It was a new experience for me and that is what I'm looking for. Also, I am trying to adopt a personal policy of buying used and recycled items as much as possible. Both the junkyard and the Dixie Mattress Company are in harmony with this objective.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Ira and Rudy

The day before I left LA, I visited Forest Lawn Cemetery. I was looking for the graves of Rudolph and Irene "Ira" Sepp, husband and wife, who had emigrated from Estonia together many years ago. I knew Ira though my friend Thea and her mother Addy. Before WWII, but after Estonia had fallen under the control of the Soviet Union, Rudy had given Thea's mother a job in his store in Estonia, in spite of the fact that she was outspokenly anti-communist. It turns out he was too, as were the majority of Estonian nationals. Rudy passed away in 1993. I met Ira at an Estonian gathering, and saw her again several times at parties and other events. Ira was kindly and frank. Once, when I had a cut above my eyebrow, she looked at me and said bluntly,"You were drunk!" Turns out she was right--I had been under the influence when I leaned over and hit my head on my bathroom faucet. Ira once asked me if she came to Los Angeles if I would drive her out to Forest Lawn to visit her husband's grave. I would have done it without question, but unfortunately she never found time for the trip. Ira passed away this year at the age of 92, and was laid to rest next to her husband. I told Thea that I would put some flowers on her grave before I left town for good. And I did. Ira was a wonderful friend to Addy, and they had long telephone conversations every day. We miss her very much.

Monday, November 17, 2008

This Journal

The inspiraton for keeping an online journal comes from Chris "Sandman" Sand, a.k.a. the "Rappin' Cowboy." Before the presidential election I was sent a link to a music video he had done called "Go Bama Go." I liked the work so much that I sent an email to him expressing my appreciation. I also checked out his Web site at http://www.rappincowboy.com/. There I found a link to an online journal he has been keeping for several years. Reading through the archives, I was touched and inspired by his way of life, his recounting of various experiences, and how his journal is an integral part of his unique artistry. Be sure to check out his site if you have the chance.

I decided to start this journal as I begin life in the Pacific NW, where I have returned to live after many years in Japan and most recently in Los Angeles. I've been reading the Notebooks of Tennessee Williams, and decided to call this journal an E-Notebook in his honor. Tennessee has this to say about keeping a journal:

Keeping a journal is a lonely man's habit, it betrays the vices of introspection and social withdrawal, even a kind of Narcissism, ... it has certain things to recommend it, it keeps a recorded continuity between his past and present selves, it gives him the comforting reassurance that shocks, defeats, disappointments are all snowed under by pages and pages of new experience that still keep flaking down over him as he continues through time...

As Tennessee would put it, "En Avant!"

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Leaving Los Angeles


I headed north from Los Angeles on Friday, Nov. 14th. I worked fast and furiously all day to get out of my apartment, as I had booked a hotel room in Sacramento for that evening. My friend Carolyne came by in a pickup truck to "pick up" my futon bed and a chair. I drove it to her apartment, as she wasn't used to a stick shift. The truck died several times and the top of the gear shift came off in my hand a couple of times. But we made it. Carolyne came back later and helped me pack up stuff. I didn't head out of town until after 8 pm, after (I'm ashamed to say) a quick Filet 'o Fish combo at McDonalds. My car was packed to the gills. I arrived in Sacramento around 1:30 in the morning. The hotel was very comfortable and affordable--I used Priceline for the first time and got a really good deal at a Mariott Residence Inn.
I left the next morning at around 10 am. Along the way, I stopped in Mt. Shasta City for gas and food. I'd never been there before, though I've always appreciated the view of the mountain from the freeway. Mt. Shasta is said to be one of the Earth's eight chakras, by some reports that of the heart chakra and by others the head. Either way, it is inspiring. I drove for quite a long while without sighting a gas station and was fearful of losing track of how to get back to the freeway. I finally pulled up in front of a burger joint, where I figured I could ask for directions. There were a couple of items of note in the place. One was a weathered wooden signboard reading "James Dean Road." Since I was wearing my James Dean watch at the time, you might guess how I feel about Jimmy. I took it as a sign that maybe I was following the right road in my move from LA to Vancouver, WA. The other thing of note was the spectacularly gorgeous view of Mt. Shasta this little place had to offer. Just beautiful. The fish and chips weren't half bad either. Two officers of the law who were also eating gave me directions to a gas station and back to the freeway.
I finally arrived at my parents' house north of Battle Ground, WA around 9 pm yesterday. I was glad to see them and they me. I ate some chicken and vegetables my mother had cooked. Today I went to my brother's apartment and unloaded all the stuff from my car. He lives in Hazel Dell, which is on the northern outskirts of Vancouver near I-5. That is where I'll be living for the time being. It doesn't seem quite real yet, but a new chapter in my life has begun!

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