Strike

Bleecker + Lafayette
Originally uploaded by ten safe frogs.

My Commute Sucks

NYC Transit Strike 2005
Originally uploaded by Caviar.

I thank the NYC Mass Transit strike for my beautiful commute. That's why I've been working from home the last 2 days. Gridlock is a wonderful thing. It turned me back from my aborted trip to work this morning. We'll see if it will do the same to me tomorrow.

Now that’s the Oregon spirit

December 2005
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

Evan and Suzy live in New York (four hours away) but they’re definitely Oregonians (even if Evan was born in New York). They came down for the weekend. We cruised over to midtown, checked out Nolita, walked through Central Park, hiked in upstate, discussed the pros and cons of Gabe’s look sans facial hair and evaluated the state of East Coast beer.

“Man the beer here sucks.” Evan said.

“You’re right. That’s why I always make sure one of my bags for the plane has extra room for some Northwest microbrews.” I quickly replied.

We all agreed that this was a great strategy. I tried to get Evan and Suzy to come out to Bend with us for the New Year’s celebration, but I don’t think it worked. It was great to see them.

A Little Christmas Tree

December 2005
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

It’s small. But what do you expect? It fits our little NYC apartment. Christmas is here. Michelle and I had to decorate. And we had to have a tree. It’s in our souls. Don’t you know, Estacada Oregon is the Christmas Tree capital of the world.

There's been a Farah Sighting

December 2005
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

Farah dropped by and stayed over a night while she was visiting friends in NYC. That makes her our 68th Portland visitor since we've been here. We love it. Keep 'em coming.

Snow is falling

December 2005
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

Must ski soon. Our first snow. We watch it fall. We walk through it in the park. We get excited. We realize that there is no place within 2 hours to go skiing. We book a trip to Portland. We bring our skis (and snowboard). See you soon.

Dad's Sister is a Grandma

IMG_1938
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

Aunt Diane is a Grandma, and this little cutie is the proof!

Family

IMG_1935
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

I swear, he's not Eli's dad.

Work

IMG_1896
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

A little glimpse into my world. I got back from LA about 2 weeks ago. We did a photoshoot for American Express. Arduous, tough, exhausting work. I loved it. In this picture, we’re about 15 hours into our 2nd day, with 3 more hours to go. Joao is setting up the shot ad I’m behind the camera… my camera. The shoot went on for three weeks. I did the first week in LA and then stayed for an extra day to see family. The rest of the team went on to shoot in Turkey and Brazil.

NYC Graffiti

December 2005
Originally uploaded by Polish Carpetlayer.

Took this picture in Nolita. Looks like the artist understands our president’s policies.

A Voice

Occasionally you come across something that tweaks your perspective. An ad, perhaps. Maybe an ad for a cause. Or maybe some artwork for a cause. Because ads are messages, concepts and communications for the masses and they are art. I just happened to stumble across such “ads”. They come from a graffiti artist named Banksy. He operates in London England and I love his stuff. I read about it in the latest Esquire magazine after a friend, Joao, told me about the article. Banksy was voted Esquire's Artist of the Year. There’s some of this kind of activist art in NYC. But this stuff is more intrieguing than anything I’ve seen yet. Enjoy it. It’s thought provoking stuff.