Jerkin'

Sooo, made it out to Jamaica sick as a dog. While there, I slowly recuperated and just arrived back in home, sweet home an hour ago. Unfortunately, this cold is a tough one. I've still got the cough and sniffles.

The trip went as follows:


(dog prints = places we stayed. dog prints are dumb--yes--but it was the only stamp readily available!)

1. Flew into Kingston, 9/19
2. Rented car and drove to Negril that same day (est. time 4 hrs; actual time 6 hrs. Jamaican roads = pot hole heaven; car started making weird squeaking sounds)
3. Stayed in Negril two nights (didn't do much; sat on the beautiful beach and read; snorkeled a bit)
4. Left Negril and drove through Montego Bay and Ocho Rios to Long Bay, making a pit-stop at Dunn River Falls
5. As we drive into Long Bay late at night, it appears all the hotels/guesthouses/etc. were all shut down due to hurricane damages
6. Shout expletives as desperately try to find place to stay (it was my travel buddy's, Richie, idea to not book in advance as it was off-season and hotel rates and such were subject negotiation. I was already pissed off enough due to illness, Richie's lack of driving skills, and the far-too-long drive from Negril to Long Bay--again, due to road conditions between Ocho and Port Antonio)
7. Back-track to Port Antonio trying to find a decent place to stay in the eerie darkness
8. Ran into a bit of luck and landed ourselves in a Villa a 1 minute walk from the Blue Lagoon (a la young, naked Brooke Shields) and ocean, swimming distance to coral reefs (ie, good snorkeling), 10 minute drive to the best jerk food on the island (in Boston Bay), 30 minute drive to Long Bay (an awesome beach, though kind of a mess due to hurricane damages), 10 minute drive to Port Antonio (a quaint little town on the north side of the island), and a 40 minute drive to Reach Falls (infinitely superior to the more popular Dunns River Falls)
9. Stayed three nights at the Moon San Villa where we did all those things mentioned above annnd rode horses in the ocean and got free pot, care of our villa manager
10. Departed reluctantly and back-tracked to Ocho Rios for one night just to check it out (it's lame; don't bother staying there if you go t Jamaica)
11. Drove to Kingston and stayed a night; had tasty vegetarian food; not as scary as people make it sound; in fact, not scary at all (just stay out of the shady areas)
12. Flew back to Chicago. Sad face. :(

Happy face to be back in a (relatively) mosquito free environment though! Holy shit, you can make constellations with my bug bites. Despite this fairly conclusive trip o' the island, regret not getting to see the South Coast (see Alligator Pond on map). Apparently the beaches there are gorgeous and there are manatee sightings!

Photos to come.

Art update

I realized I haven't made an "art" update in awhile. I have been drawing and such--just haven't photographed/uploaded. Here are a couple:


I painted over another painting that I didn't particularly care for. The transparency of the wash-out layer does make for nice upholstery on the chairs though. This is acrylic on canvas. Size: 16x12inches. I quite like the end result and might just end up hanging it in the living room. I think I'll also make a series of these... (or of furniture drawings/paintings in general)


This is just a sketch of a child's head. Being a fan of portraiture, I was thinking of painting this as a watercolour.

Mobile: Free opera

Lyric Opera in the park.

Ugly Furniture

Why is there such an abundance of ugly furniture? Who is buying this stuff? What do their homes look like? I'm surfing on craigslist for some nice vintage finds but all I come across are horrors beyond horrors masquerading as couches. I can't imagine any of that stuff in a home. Although our apartment is fully furnished, it is awash with birch-coloured Ikea stuff; it's pretty sickening. You know how it is: cheapo, vaguely attractive stuff you get because you're not really settled yet. I guess I'm still not settled so perhaps new furniture isn't such a good idea. Nonetheless...

Everything is great about the new apartment except for these vertical blinds on the huge living/dining room windows that make this place reminiscent of some 80s era bungalow out in the burbs.

The offending "window treatments" + Ikea furniture:



Thing is, window treatments are expensive to replace too--and we're just renters!

(There was a really gorgeous, gorgeous Georgian-era style sofa with new patterned white+sage upholstery on CL a few months back. Ah, if only I can find something like that again. It was only $400 or so too!)