This is kind of like one of those TV specials the reunite casts of old sitcoms for some sort of wacky "where are they now"-type things.
The Sandwich Monkey staff had quite the 2007. 2008 has proven even more "quite".
We are now based in North Hollywood (again). We have "gotten together", we have "broken up", we have traveled a few thousand miles, we have seen great rock shows, we have held babies, we have high-fived our grandma, we have gone camping, we have caught a fish, and we have generally been living a pretty great life of good and bad and good.
We are quietly working on creative side projects-- and trying to stay in the good graces of our day-job at the factory and keep afloat amid the "global economic meltdown".
We hope anyone stumbling across this has a really wonderful day.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Friday, December 08, 2006
hello darlings
Are you still checking this old place?
Ah what times we witnessed here, eh? Well, it is almost 2007. Every day I wake up and it's a bit of a new ball game. Occasionally, I take a swing and the bat connects and, swoosh! Nothing but net.
Have you ever known me to be good at sports metaphors? Come on.
Basically, this post is to redirect you to my latest endeavor.
art palpitations
With great affection and warmest December greetings,
The SandwichMonkey Staff
Ah what times we witnessed here, eh? Well, it is almost 2007. Every day I wake up and it's a bit of a new ball game. Occasionally, I take a swing and the bat connects and, swoosh! Nothing but net.
Have you ever known me to be good at sports metaphors? Come on.
Basically, this post is to redirect you to my latest endeavor.
art palpitations
With great affection and warmest December greetings,
The SandwichMonkey Staff
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Lost Angeles
Don't forget to love. (this is especially important because how else are we supposed to successfully negotiate through the complete crumbling collapse of modern life and society as we know it?)
Monday, July 24, 2006
Part 2: The Thrilling Conclusion
Here's what happens somtimes:
I never know where I'm going until I get there.
I woke up on Thursday morning and tried on a lot of different thoughts. The one that fit best was the one where I packed up my things and headed to Astoria, seizing the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream of visiting the magical pirate-treasured boobytrapped town of one of my very favorite movies from the mid 80's.
So off I went. I got there in the early afternoon and stopped at an Oregon Visitor's Information/Welcome Center type place where I aquired some free maps and an Astoria Visitors Guide-- which conveniently had a map of all relevant "Goonies" locations. "Ah," I realized. "This town KNOWS..."
I cruised around. Sheepishly snapped some quick shots of some things.
... like the jail that Jake broke out of in the beginning of the movie.
... like the building where Mikey's dad is fiddling with the flag pole as they all ride past on bikes on their way to the beach.
... like the actual Walsh home. "I'd really like the house clean when they tear it down..."
Then I drove up to the top of Astoria and climbed a big column and took in the view from above.
It was very peaceful. I felt an inner calm I hadn't had in quite some time. I sat in my car, ate the rest of my bread pudding I had grabbed from a little cafe in Portland that morning, and looked at a map of the coast line. I decided to head down the 101 for the rest of the day.
Then I saw signs for Cannon Beach and had to honor my inner child and stop for pictures.
I drove until around 8pm and decided to honor my Farrar blood and find a place to sleep in my car. I found a campground just off the highway. They had a few spots left. I did have my tent in my trunk, but was too tired to really set myself up in it. The backseat worked out fine.
I got up the next morning. Showered. Grabbed an egg sandwich from the little food trailer nearby and hit the road. The coast is gorgeous, but the 45MPH roads through the towns were driving me nuts. So I cut over to the 5 and high-tailed it back to California.
I realized that the only drink that could keep me caffinated but not give me the sugar shakes was Lipton's unsweetened iced tea. So I drank a lot. So I had to pee a lot. Luckily there were plenty of rest stops along the way. Although THIS one in particular was a bit... shall we say disappointingly misrepresented.
I had big plans to stop in San Francisco and Stinson Beach, but after my 10th hour in the car, I was pretty thrashed and opted to try and make it back to Santa Cruz for the night. The next morning, the cousins and I went for a delicious breakfast and they headed to the farmers market and I headed back to LA.
It was hot and I even passed a brush fire lapping the sides of the freeway in the Angeles Nat'l Park.
I arrived in the early afternoon to find it was 113 degrees outside my apartment. I dragged myself up the stairs, turned on the AC and fell asleep.
What an amazing trip. I feel... GOOD.
In Other News:
A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOES OUT TO MY SISTER CARRIE WHO IS 25 TODAY AND TO MY UNCLE PETER WHO IS A FEW YEARS OLDER THAN THAT.
Hats off to you, my dears!!!
Keep cool, Monkeys.
Global warming is REAL.
I never know where I'm going until I get there.
I woke up on Thursday morning and tried on a lot of different thoughts. The one that fit best was the one where I packed up my things and headed to Astoria, seizing the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream of visiting the magical pirate-treasured boobytrapped town of one of my very favorite movies from the mid 80's.
So off I went. I got there in the early afternoon and stopped at an Oregon Visitor's Information/Welcome Center type place where I aquired some free maps and an Astoria Visitors Guide-- which conveniently had a map of all relevant "Goonies" locations. "Ah," I realized. "This town KNOWS..."
I cruised around. Sheepishly snapped some quick shots of some things.
... like the jail that Jake broke out of in the beginning of the movie.
... like the building where Mikey's dad is fiddling with the flag pole as they all ride past on bikes on their way to the beach.
... like the actual Walsh home. "I'd really like the house clean when they tear it down..."
Then I drove up to the top of Astoria and climbed a big column and took in the view from above.
It was very peaceful. I felt an inner calm I hadn't had in quite some time. I sat in my car, ate the rest of my bread pudding I had grabbed from a little cafe in Portland that morning, and looked at a map of the coast line. I decided to head down the 101 for the rest of the day.
Then I saw signs for Cannon Beach and had to honor my inner child and stop for pictures.
I drove until around 8pm and decided to honor my Farrar blood and find a place to sleep in my car. I found a campground just off the highway. They had a few spots left. I did have my tent in my trunk, but was too tired to really set myself up in it. The backseat worked out fine.
I got up the next morning. Showered. Grabbed an egg sandwich from the little food trailer nearby and hit the road. The coast is gorgeous, but the 45MPH roads through the towns were driving me nuts. So I cut over to the 5 and high-tailed it back to California.
I realized that the only drink that could keep me caffinated but not give me the sugar shakes was Lipton's unsweetened iced tea. So I drank a lot. So I had to pee a lot. Luckily there were plenty of rest stops along the way. Although THIS one in particular was a bit... shall we say disappointingly misrepresented.
I had big plans to stop in San Francisco and Stinson Beach, but after my 10th hour in the car, I was pretty thrashed and opted to try and make it back to Santa Cruz for the night. The next morning, the cousins and I went for a delicious breakfast and they headed to the farmers market and I headed back to LA.
It was hot and I even passed a brush fire lapping the sides of the freeway in the Angeles Nat'l Park.
I arrived in the early afternoon to find it was 113 degrees outside my apartment. I dragged myself up the stairs, turned on the AC and fell asleep.
What an amazing trip. I feel... GOOD.
In Other News:
A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOES OUT TO MY SISTER CARRIE WHO IS 25 TODAY AND TO MY UNCLE PETER WHO IS A FEW YEARS OLDER THAN THAT.
Hats off to you, my dears!!!
Keep cool, Monkeys.
Global warming is REAL.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
2500 miles later...
Merciful heavens, do I love a good road trip!
This time 'round was a solo endeavor.
I headed out Sunday early morning and drove to Santa Cruz. I got there in the early afternoon and spent the rest of the day hanging out with my cousin and his family who I only see a few times a year. An impromptu water park was created in the backyard. I was treated to wine and turkey dogs and a yummy fruit tart. Excellent times! I crashed in their living room and arose the next day to head to Oregon.
Monday was a full 10 hour day of driving. Portland was my ultimate destination... but I needed to make one stop first...
I meant I stopped in Eugene. Where did YOU think I was going? (ya bunch of stoners...)
Monday night was spent in Eugene where I met up with my friend Nicole and her friends Codie and Caleb who had recently returned from Thailand bearing gifts in the form of alcoholic drinks that tasted, in Nicole's words, "like a grape jolly rancher and a bad frat party". I'll spare the details but the following picture was taken at 3 AM amidst a serious drunken sing-along.
People in Oregon are a hearty bunch of troopers.
Tuesday morning saw us rafting down the McKenzie River with Codie and Caleb (feeling better after separate side-of-road-puking incidents) guiding us through class one and class two rapids. This was my first time rafting and I was incredibly thrilled, excited and mildly terrified all at the same time. We packed sandwiches and ate them in between the choppy bits. It was a lovely day, and we were nearing the end of the trip. We came upon our final rapid. There was speculation later that it was a class 3. We gave it our all, but some how came at it mildly askew and ended up flipping the raft. I remember hitting the water, being completely submerged and clearly thinking three things: 1) I am under the water, but my life jacket will take me to the surface. 2) I have to find the raft. 3) this water is SHOCKINGLY COLD!
It was a bit crazy, but we all made it to the bank-- all oars in tact, all alive, nothing broken. It was quite the introduction to Oregon life! Luckily I didn't bring my camera with me on the boat, or it may have gone the way of my sunglasses during my McKenzie River baptism.
Below is a re-enactment of the moment before we all went over:
Nicole and I drove up to Portland after our rafting trip, and made it into town in time to grab a late dinner at a delightful Cuban restaurant called Pambiche. (pictured below)
Then we went to Laurelthirst, grabbed a drink, took in the atmosphere and listened to a little live music.
Wednesday, I woke up in Nicole's apartment (which I LOVE, by the way. All attic nooks and windows and style!). I stretched a bit, and realized I was sore from the rafting. "hey, Nicole, are you sore?" I shouted out in a wake-up groggy voice. "i don't know. I haven't moved yet." came a sleepy response. I laughed, and discovered more achy muscles. "Ha ha ha--oooh..."
We had breakfast, which is apparently a BIG thing in Portland, at the Tin Shed. I aquired a new beaded bracelet at a nearby boutique. I called a friend of a friend who lived in Portland and made dinner plans. Then we hit some waterfalls and beautiful scenery. (pictured below).
We returned home to Nicole's. She got ready for work, handed me a map, some house keys and suggestions for where to hang out until dinnertime. We went to the rose gardens and parted ways. I took in more breathtaking views and smelled some flowers and headed down to window shop and get some tea along 23rd and Burnside.
(below: shadows near the rose garden)
In the evening, I met up with a friend of a friend named John. He had generously offered to show me some cool places to eat and drink. We ended up getting sushi at a place I can't remember the name of. But it had a model train that went around the bar delivering various sushi foodstuffs. I wish I had pictures, but at this point, my camera battery kept shutting down.
We hit a great dive bar for post dinner drinks, met up with Nicole, had more drinks and then the three of us went to the Kennedy School for late-night tater-tots, hummus and more drinks. This place was an old school that has been turned into a restaurant, bars, hotel, movie theater, etc. It's all school-themed. I think we sat in the Honors Bar, but there's also a Detention Bar-- which would be fun to check out next time.
In the bar, Nicole had met a happy and inebriated couple celebrating their honeymoon (although they hadn't actually gotten marrired yet). They had been together for something like 20 years and were completely in love. It added to the general jovial mood of the whole evening.
I have to take a moment to just say how amazing everyone I met in Portland (and Eugene) is. There is some seriously good energy going on up there. Maybe it's the clean air and all the trees.
Around 2am, we left John (who will hopefully come visit LA sometime), and Nicole and I retired in the wee hours for an early Thursday morning. Well, early for her. She had to be at work at 8:30. I slept in until around 10AM and decided at that moment that I would drive to Astoria.
THUS ENDS the FIRST half of my trip. Another post (chock full of Goonies references) to come later.
This time 'round was a solo endeavor.
I headed out Sunday early morning and drove to Santa Cruz. I got there in the early afternoon and spent the rest of the day hanging out with my cousin and his family who I only see a few times a year. An impromptu water park was created in the backyard. I was treated to wine and turkey dogs and a yummy fruit tart. Excellent times! I crashed in their living room and arose the next day to head to Oregon.
Monday was a full 10 hour day of driving. Portland was my ultimate destination... but I needed to make one stop first...
I meant I stopped in Eugene. Where did YOU think I was going? (ya bunch of stoners...)
Monday night was spent in Eugene where I met up with my friend Nicole and her friends Codie and Caleb who had recently returned from Thailand bearing gifts in the form of alcoholic drinks that tasted, in Nicole's words, "like a grape jolly rancher and a bad frat party". I'll spare the details but the following picture was taken at 3 AM amidst a serious drunken sing-along.
People in Oregon are a hearty bunch of troopers.
Tuesday morning saw us rafting down the McKenzie River with Codie and Caleb (feeling better after separate side-of-road-puking incidents) guiding us through class one and class two rapids. This was my first time rafting and I was incredibly thrilled, excited and mildly terrified all at the same time. We packed sandwiches and ate them in between the choppy bits. It was a lovely day, and we were nearing the end of the trip. We came upon our final rapid. There was speculation later that it was a class 3. We gave it our all, but some how came at it mildly askew and ended up flipping the raft. I remember hitting the water, being completely submerged and clearly thinking three things: 1) I am under the water, but my life jacket will take me to the surface. 2) I have to find the raft. 3) this water is SHOCKINGLY COLD!
It was a bit crazy, but we all made it to the bank-- all oars in tact, all alive, nothing broken. It was quite the introduction to Oregon life! Luckily I didn't bring my camera with me on the boat, or it may have gone the way of my sunglasses during my McKenzie River baptism.
Below is a re-enactment of the moment before we all went over:
Nicole and I drove up to Portland after our rafting trip, and made it into town in time to grab a late dinner at a delightful Cuban restaurant called Pambiche. (pictured below)
Then we went to Laurelthirst, grabbed a drink, took in the atmosphere and listened to a little live music.
Wednesday, I woke up in Nicole's apartment (which I LOVE, by the way. All attic nooks and windows and style!). I stretched a bit, and realized I was sore from the rafting. "hey, Nicole, are you sore?" I shouted out in a wake-up groggy voice. "i don't know. I haven't moved yet." came a sleepy response. I laughed, and discovered more achy muscles. "Ha ha ha--oooh..."
We had breakfast, which is apparently a BIG thing in Portland, at the Tin Shed. I aquired a new beaded bracelet at a nearby boutique. I called a friend of a friend who lived in Portland and made dinner plans. Then we hit some waterfalls and beautiful scenery. (pictured below).
We returned home to Nicole's. She got ready for work, handed me a map, some house keys and suggestions for where to hang out until dinnertime. We went to the rose gardens and parted ways. I took in more breathtaking views and smelled some flowers and headed down to window shop and get some tea along 23rd and Burnside.
(below: shadows near the rose garden)
In the evening, I met up with a friend of a friend named John. He had generously offered to show me some cool places to eat and drink. We ended up getting sushi at a place I can't remember the name of. But it had a model train that went around the bar delivering various sushi foodstuffs. I wish I had pictures, but at this point, my camera battery kept shutting down.
We hit a great dive bar for post dinner drinks, met up with Nicole, had more drinks and then the three of us went to the Kennedy School for late-night tater-tots, hummus and more drinks. This place was an old school that has been turned into a restaurant, bars, hotel, movie theater, etc. It's all school-themed. I think we sat in the Honors Bar, but there's also a Detention Bar-- which would be fun to check out next time.
In the bar, Nicole had met a happy and inebriated couple celebrating their honeymoon (although they hadn't actually gotten marrired yet). They had been together for something like 20 years and were completely in love. It added to the general jovial mood of the whole evening.
I have to take a moment to just say how amazing everyone I met in Portland (and Eugene) is. There is some seriously good energy going on up there. Maybe it's the clean air and all the trees.
Around 2am, we left John (who will hopefully come visit LA sometime), and Nicole and I retired in the wee hours for an early Thursday morning. Well, early for her. She had to be at work at 8:30. I slept in until around 10AM and decided at that moment that I would drive to Astoria.
THUS ENDS the FIRST half of my trip. Another post (chock full of Goonies references) to come later.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
1000 miles ahead of me
I will be back on Sunday for sure-- if not Saturday night. I do enjoy a good Weddington party.
Portland is great.
Remind me to tell you about my Mackenzie River Baptism...
Love is life is love.
M
Portland is great.
Remind me to tell you about my Mackenzie River Baptism...
Love is life is love.
M
Saturday, July 15, 2006
leaving the city
Tomorrow morning as early as I can muster, I shall take off up the coast. I am embarrassingly unprepared, but that will only make things, um, more exciting.
I love taking solo trips and seeing people I rarely see or have never actually met before. For some reason, it feels like this is one of the essential components to the path and purpose of my life. I reconnect with myself, let go of a lot of emotional un-necessities, and swim around in new places, people and ideas. My heart always feels more open and my senses are more alert during those times. Hope and love is revived within.
Destination: Portland-- by way of Santa Cruz and whatever else.
Stories and a few pix will be posted upon my return. (unless I happen upon the interweb during my travels)
Have a wonderful week, monkeys. I mean that most sincerely.
I love taking solo trips and seeing people I rarely see or have never actually met before. For some reason, it feels like this is one of the essential components to the path and purpose of my life. I reconnect with myself, let go of a lot of emotional un-necessities, and swim around in new places, people and ideas. My heart always feels more open and my senses are more alert during those times. Hope and love is revived within.
Destination: Portland-- by way of Santa Cruz and whatever else.
Stories and a few pix will be posted upon my return. (unless I happen upon the interweb during my travels)
Have a wonderful week, monkeys. I mean that most sincerely.
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