Strawberry Muffin Brunch

Recipe from www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/strawberry-muffins-3

#30DoC June 1st

Welcome June!

Yesterday took me on a morning trip to the American Red Cross for a round of apheresis platelet donation. The bus ride was the first for me in a while, being that I typically walk, bike or catch rides from friends, and that I find MetroTransit impossibly frustrating. 

After a quick cup of coffee and a delicious espresso from Urban Bean I caught a bus into downtown. Minneapolis rarely looks better than on a bright and sunny morning thanks to the way the light hits the buildings in downtown, showing off the details and making them glow.  

I was early for my appointment so I went into the empty lot across from the Red Cross' parking lot and took some photos of the Caterpillar Excavators that were just sitting there. Just as I was walking away I noticed an official look woman, probably a security guard, walking towards me. Her appearance was hardly necessary, I was only taking pictures, but after informing me of that the equipment was being video taped and that I shouldn't be playing around with them I went on my way.

Next is a quick video of the walk through the parking lot, ending at the Red Cross

After donating I walked down the river road, toward the Stone Arch Bridge, where I was graciously picked up and driven home by my favorite person, MES.

Check out http://30daysofcreativity.com/ 

I saw a band once

Band shirt, from the show in Augusta, Ga

I saw a band once. Their name was A Summer Story. I think it was my first experience with live music that wasn't an orchestra. I can't remember the name of the venue, but it was in Augusta, GA.

I remember the venue being one single long room painted one single long brushstroke of matte black. The dimensions reminded me of a movie theater I went to as a child in Aiken, SC. It only cost $2, and played movies that had been out for a while. This venue though, it had less of a downward slant, and was void of any seating. The bands were set up on the small stage which seemed overflowing with large amplifiers or speakers, or both. That was all in the rear of the room and in the front of the room, where I entered from the street, sat two sets of folding tables accompanied by two sets of folding chair which were inhabited by two sets of people whom I can't recall anything about. They took my money and let me in, then they took my money again and gave me a shirt.

That was about 10 or so years ago and now all that is left of the shirt is the above photo.

psychedelic repeating pattern

do you have words?

When I was younger I was often asked if I had words. Back then I responded quickly and mostly without thinking, which often hurt me and others, but now I've learned that I don't have words, even when I think I do, and while I still refrain from keeping my mouth shut, I often delete what my fingers create, knowing that my thoughts as writing are worse than any conversations I attend.

http://blather.newdream.net/red/
http://blather.newdream.net

Dj Dig Dug at Bev's Wine Bar

Went out to hear some good music and hang out with some friends the other day. This photo was shot with my cell phone camera.
I did recently buy a new battery charger for my digital camera's battery, so the photo quality here will increase slightly in future posts.

slump

Useless and unwanted are rotten feelings to have on a dreary Monday 

 

--
Andrew M. Cooke

612-270-7849
@disasterandrew
andrewmcooke.com

Mary Lance Van Every Sisk

Here is a link to Mary Lance Sisk's obituary.
She was a great woman. She had a kind and loving soul, and she will be missed.

In the airport

Traveling to Charlotte, NC for a funeral. I ran this morning, 3 miles, it was cold. Real cold. Actually, fake cold. 2 or 3 degrees wit a wind chill of -16. My face mask was frozen halfway through the second mile. After the run I made breakfast, rostï potatoes, scrambled eggs, juice and coffee.
The airport is slow today. There will be about 40 of us on the plain and our flight crew just came in from Saskatoon.

Jewelry Package Design

These are designs by Kristy Jean, a graphic designer and illustrator out of Melbourne, Australia. I came across the work featured here at The Dieline. These photos are from Kristy's website.

I was just thinking the other day about how fun it would be to design 

the package for the engagement ring I'll give to my girlfriend. I don't 

even know what the ring will look like, which is something else I'd 

like to design, but I'm sure that my package wouldn't look like Kristy's.

Not that this package isn't fantastic. It's just that knowing my girlfriend, 

I don't think this would be an ideal package for an engagement ring 

for her. Plus, I feel that marriage is a uniquely personal endeavor, so 

it would mean much more to both me and my girlfriend if I were to 

design the ring and ring's package to fit her style and our relationship 

in a beautiful unifying way. 

Job Searching : Blue :: Employment : Orange

If Job Searching is Blue, Employment is Orange

My search for a job is really getting me down.
My job is really getting me down.
My life is really getting me down.
I'm continually criticizing everything I make only to send it out and be rejected at every opportunity. So I keep editing my work, fixing problems, adding new work, but I'm still met with the same reaction. It's not good enough, someone else is more qualified.
Of course someone else is more qualified. Since when have I been #1 at anything. I was never the most talented, smartest, ambitious, or fastest at any of the things of done, but it never stopped me from trying, and I've done some really great things, but I'm at the point now where trying doesn't seem to be worth it anymore.
I know how to use the Adobe Creative Suite (illustrator, indesign, and photoshop to be exact) I can draw some pictures, heck, I can even make something look real; I got a degree from Minneapolis Community and Technical College. I see myself as an artist and if you hired me to work for you I could make you something beautiful and maybe even functional
I don't know what I want.
I want to get paid more than $9.50/hr.
I want to love my job.
I want to be happy.
I want to not feel alone and lost and useless.
I want to work hard on a project and see it through to the end and see someone become excited about my work and see someone enjoy what I made. I want to not feel poor. I want to be able to pay my bills and go grocery shopping and maybe have enough extra money to take my girlfriend out on a date from time to time. I want to save money. I want to have a family. I want to be proud of the work I do. I want to live my life. I don't want to be weighed down by my underemployment. I don't want to waste my life selling shit I can't afford to people with more money to spend in an evening than I make in 2 weeks. I want to work for a company that loves people not profits. I want to spend my evenings and weekends with the people that are important to me not at work because the only shifts available are at night.
I want to be a graphic designer because I love to make things. I want to make things. I want to design your name. I want to design your card. I want to design your product. I want to design your store. I want to design your website. I want to design your customer's experience. I can make all of those things. I can make them better than they are and I can make them better than you can imagine them.
I just need to be employed.
I need to be scraped up off the curb and put to work.
I just want to start my career, and I want to shine. I'm sick of my stagnant life. I want a change. I need a change.
This job searching business is not for me, I'm an artist. I'm a graphic designer.

C 8 H 10 N 4 O 2 and me

At this time, 8:30, just about every morning, as the coffee I've eagerly consumed begins to kick in, I feel as if I could accomplish anything. Perhaps it's all in my head, perhaps it's the effect of Sufjan Stevens' The Age of Adz album playing, but more than likely it's the C ₈ H ₁₀ N ₄ O ₂ (caffeine) taking hold of my central nervous system, making me feel like there isn't a project too big, and every idea I have is the greatest.
Today, at the exact same time I began to become excited about the tasks I want to do today: go to work, sell shoes, work on my design portfolio, prepare for my informational interview tomorrow, run… the list goes on, but as my thoughts began to shift from what I want to do to what I need to do the list revealed the chores I'm not nearly as excited about; laundry, dishes, sweeping, vacuuming, more laundry, folding laundry, more dishes, laundry again.
My loss of momentum is my fastest action yet today.
8:45 and I've lost hope in the day?
ugh.
I want more coffee.

hello dishes, hello laundry