Chaos Love: love, life, design and more.

Ever since Cam has arrived, we have been inseparable. I have no reason to get away and do things on my own, maybe except to post a blog or something. Even when I'm working, Cam will be there to take me to lunch and be there to escort me home or to dragon boating practice. We have cruised this city up and down and have had the best time doing it. We have settled in so naturally, I feel like we have been together for years. Everyone says we are so cute and we have been nothing but stress-free and smiles.

Today was even a better reason to be all smiles! As characterless as it was, we retrieved our Marriage License today! It was almost a bit too easy, as we both filled our the form and paid our $60, but we had been waiting to do this for months, nearly a year! The Multnomah County center for all those legal situations that require you to walk into bright silent waiting room and fill out some form or another, was where we had to go. The woman behind the glass contrasted greatly with the hostess at the restaurant we went to afterwards, who was full of glee for us! We drank mimosas and beer in the sun and toasted ourselves for being the luckiest couple in the world.

Now we had to get down to business and actually plan something for this inevitable wedding of ours. Like most brides to be, I have been sucked into the obsession of what I will be wearing. The ceremony planning can wait until I know that Cam and I will be in perfect galactic suits. I was absolutely thrilled to pick up a pair of these super moon boots at Future, in downtown Portland.


My rough sketches of my dress have been cleaned up a bit to show how the main dress will work, without all the accessories attached to it.


And Cam will be at my side as my strapping young space pioneer.


Together, we will rule the universe!

We bought a super cute DV camera last week and we are prepared to document this journey as only 1080i can. So far we have mastered filming the neighboring kitty that skittishly runs around the courtyard but we are getting better. I feel for sure, with our powers combined we will be able to create a project that will captivate audiences all over.

Hehe. Well that enough of my talk for now. Gotta go before the compy decides to suddenly shut off at any moment....

Posted in: chaosgurl, chaoslove, wedding on May 31, 2007 at at 4:34:00 PM 0 comments    

Pretty much since I got here (which is only just over two weeks ago!), Christine and I have been looking for a new, bigger place to live. This studio apartment is sweet, but definitely not big enough for two people and all their stuff to coexist without driving both parties totally mad.

I've already told you about the first place we looked at with the crazy, domineering landlord... an eye-opening way to be introduced to the American system of property rentals. Things are so different to back home in Australia, where the rental market is very regulated and you deal almost exclusively with real estate agents acting on the landlord's behalf.

Not here: you talk either to the property manager or directly to the landlord and there's very little regulation. Depending on the property or the whims of the landlord, application fees can be between $15 and $50 and you may be charged a huge "moving in" fee as well. Security deposits can vary wildly in size and it seems like its a lot more difficult to get it all back at the end of your tenancy as the landlord keeps a hold of it instead of a neutral party like the Rental Tribunal Board back home. Their word against yours, in effect, and they hold the cash.

Anyway, the next place we looked at was just off NW 23rd Ave, which is one of the most happening areas in Portland. So we were quite excited at the prospect of a little two bedroom townhouse just around the corner. And then we met Mike, the property manager from hell. First off, he ignored us completely as we waited outside the property, making us call him on our phone! Once inside, he made no effort to explain any of the features of the property or even show us around. Then we got the lecture about keeping the noise down at all times, which was mainly for his benefit I think, as lived in the unit next door. This ended with the dire warning, "your first party here will be your last!" Yeesh! Not even the obvious attractions of the neighbourhood could make us see past this awful, petty little man.

Then we thought we had really found something great. A brand new apartment that had been constructed in the basement of a beautiful 1920s apartment block in inner SE Portland. And when I say new, I mean NEW. The rooms were a bit of an odd shape at times as they'd been shoehorned into the basement, but it was very, very livable and only a few blocks from a funky restuarant area as well. We applied, were accepted and only had to go and sign the lease document when we found something even better!

A fantastic two level townhouse in "NoPo" (North Portland) with a wonderful, friendly hippie landlord/manager. She has been doing up the townhouses in the complex herself over the last six months, giving them a very fresh, funky, retro feel without raising the rental prices to astronomical levels. It has a balcony off the main bedroom as well as a little garden area out back, and there's a real sense of community about the place as well. We fell in love right away and asked for an application form immediately. We dropped the application in this morning and should hear back about it in the next few days! Fingers crossed!

Posted in: chaosboy, portland on at at 3:59:00 PM 0 comments    

The wedding of Cameron Gregory Booth to Christine Alexandra Garcia will take place on July 21st, 2007 at a yet to be determined location in Portland, Oregon. The ceremony is only for immediate family, so Christine and I designed this awesome announcement to inform all our other relatives and friends of the situation. They're being printed up as we speak and will be sent out very shortly.

Posted in: art, chaosboy, chaoslove, wedding on at at 3:45:00 PM 0 comments    

Just a short entry to let you all know how I'm settling in. I already have a US bank account and a cell phone, although the phone has had to be put in Christine's name as I don't have a Social Security number yet.

A Social Security number, or simply "your Social", is such an amazingly integral part of life here. There's so much you just cannot do without one. The Australian Tax File Number pales into insignificance compared the Social and everyone has theirs completely memorised... Christine reels hers off without hesitation whenever asked.

Christine's little studio apartment is fitting both of us quite well at the moment as it has a surprisingly large amount of storage, but we've already started looking for a bigger place. We viewed an apartment on Wednesday (my first full day in the US!!) but it was pretty dreadful and the landlord was one of those people who would be in your face every second day... not what we're after at all! When Christine goes back to work on Monday, I'll start looking for some other options. We're not in a great hurry to get out of here, but if somewhere good comes up we'll definitely take it!

Posted in: chaosboy, portland on May 20, 2007 at at 8:17:00 PM 0 comments    

Chaosboy and Chaos Gurl are reunited after four long months, although getting here turned into far more of an adventure than it should have been.

I arrived at Sydney Airport in plenty of time for my flight thanks to a lift from my parents and strolled right up to the Business Class counters, past the snaking queues of Economy Class... (am I sounding like a snob? Perhaps, but I certainly do enjoy all the perks of the higher classes of air travel!) However, the first words of the United staff member weren't encouraging, "Oh, haven't you heard about the San Francisco flight?"

She then went on to tell me that the Sydney - San Fran flight had been cancelled for the day. For five seconds, panic rose in my throat and I was wondering how to tell Christine that I would be coming another day later. Fortunately, all passengers were being transferred onto the Sydney to Los Angeles flight and she was able to book me onto a LA to Portland flight as well. Disaster averted! The LA flight was leaving much earlier than the SF one, so I had to bid a hurried (and slightly teary) farewell to my parents to get through security in time to catch it. I also was able to send a quick email to Christine to let her know the change of plans.

Thirteen hours of Business Class comfort later (I was actually able to sleep!), we landed in LA, which, by the way, is possibly the ugliest airport I have ever been in. Even Heathrow looks neat and tidy compared to this awkward, clumsy hodge-podge of an airport terminal. Immigration and Customs were cleared with the utmost of ease, with no hard questions or interrogation at all. However, as I exited the secure area of the terminal, I was greeted by a United baggage handler who asked me if I was continuing on to another destination and if he could help me recheck my bags. When I told him I was going to Portland, he informed me that that flight had also been cancelled and I'd have to go upstairs to the ticket office to find a new flight.

Wearily, I lugged by bags upstairs and asked to book a new flight to Portland. At first, the assistant told me that the next flight from LA to Portland was leaving LA at 5:39pm and wouldn't arrive there until after 8:00pm. It was only 10:30 in the morning at this point, and the idea of hanging around in crappy old LAX for 7 hours really didn't appeal, so I asked her for another option. She eventually hooked me up with a flight from LA to San Fran, connecting with another flight to Portland. This would get me in to Portland at around 6:00pm. I accepted these flights as the best of a bad lot and set off to the gate.

The flight was scheduled to leave at 1:00pm, but this blew out to 1:45 and then 2:00! This day was definitely not a good advertisement for United's reliability! By the time I eventually got to San Fran, I had to sprint from Gate 76 where we pulled in around to Gate 90 to make my connection! I made t with a few minutes to spare and was cheerfully informed that "if you made it here, your baggage will as well".

I finally arrived in Portland at 6:03pm, meaning I had been on planes or waiting around at airports for a full 24 hours or so - far more than I really wanted to. But it was all worthwhile when I saw Christine holding up an awesome hand-painted welcome sign with a huge smile on her face. Reunited at last... let the adventures begin!

Posted in: chaosboy, chaoslove, immigration, portland, united states on May 16, 2007 at at 7:38:00 PM 1 comments    

On the night before I leave Australia, my family and my friends for Portland and my wonderful Christine, I think it's time to reflect a bit...

Just on two and a half years ago, I was a broken man. My world had been turned upside down, all that I knew had been destroyed by what I can only describe as an utter betrayal by the person I trusted most in the whole world. And I didn't react very well at the time. Looking back now, I really think I was in a state of shock for the first six months - I simply couldn't believe this had happened to me. I did some weird things like shaving all my hair off and trying to get in touch with girls I used to vaguely talk to ten or more years ago... goodness knows why. Neither of these were particularly successful ventures, either.

I finally started to pull myself together, thanks in no small part to the effort of my brother Tim, who hauled my sorry ass along to the Shootout Festival up in Newcastle... I was getting out of my horrid little apartment, talking to other people, having fun. I even flirted a bit, something I hadn't done for years and years... and it felt good. Nothing came of it, and I never expected it to, but it was an important step for me.

Once Sian made it perfectly clear that there was absolutely no room in her life for me at all, things became even easier. It simply hardened my resolve to prove to myself that all her assumptions about me were wrong, that I was better than she - and maybe even I - had thought. I became far more confident in my outlook to life, shedding the strange "absent minded" persona that I had come to adopt in my relationship with Sian... some kind of peculiar defence mechanism, perhaps? Having no one else to fall back on meant that if I wanted something done, I had to do it myself... and that was probably the best thing for me. My nervousness (verging on phobia) about phone calls and unknown situations simply disappeared.

I also felt an overwhelming need to express myself creatively, something that I think had been supressed or subverted in my relationship with Sian. I feel that she simply wanted so much of my time that there wasn't any room left for me. I bought a Canon digital SLR and totally immersed myself in photography. I get tremendous pleasure out of my photography and I feel like I am always improving and challenging myself with it, trying new techniques and looking for that perfect/unusual shot. It's something that I need to do to be me.

And suddenly, I was happy again. Confident, smiling, relaxed. Friends and workmates noticed it and told me. The funny thing is, I didn't feel like a new person, I simply felt like I had rediscovered what it meant to be me instead of worrying about how I was perceived by others.

And this is who Christine observed, admired, desired and fell in love with. Just me, as I am. No pretensions, no illusions, no lies, no bullshit. She saw, she liked. And that's one of the most wonderful things of all; that who I am is enough.

Of course, since she has come into my life, I've just gone from strength to strength... the guy who once hated picking up the phone has now single-handedly obtained a K-1 Fiance Visa (complete with all the associated hoop jumping), moved all his belongings to another country and will soon be in the process of organising a wedding, moving house and seeking employment! And not only that, I'm thriving on it... I feel so alive, so ready to take on anything. So, you'll have to indulge me a bit at this point and allow me to say, just this one time: "Sian, you were wrong."

Tomorrow marks the start of a whole new exciting chapter for me, truly "the first day of the rest of my life". I'm not nervous or scared at all, but totally excited and so ready for whatever happens. I've had to come a long way in this last two and a half years, but I have learned so much about myself in the process... who I am and what I need out of life. A voyage of discovery, perhaps? One that has only just begun. See you all in the States!

Chaos Boy

Posted in: chaosboy, chaoslove, general musings on May 14, 2007 at at 4:05:00 PM 1 comments    

Hey there sportsfans!
It was a beautiful day in Tacoma, Washington and we arrived early in order to get ready for the first 8 o'clock races! The sun was shining, the water was calm and a strange smell floated over from the factories across the river. About half our team had never been in a race before and we were buzzing with excitement. We pitched our tent on the grass and watched the beginning of the first races.
We were in the long skinny boats, which we were used to, execept (you'd love this mom) at the front sat a large drum. The coaches quickly learned to beat their drums as loud as they could, perhaps a method to overcome the pounding of the racing boat next to them. When it was our turn to go out, an official came to get our team and carrying a number. We were marshalled to the dock and the number was our corresponding lane. We would have to wait on the dock until the previous boats were rowed back to our end of the river. In that time we would size up our opponents standing next to us or just joke around as our coach Ducky constantly tried to get us to focus quietly on the upcoming race.
I wasn't anxious until I was bent over with my paddle in the water waiting for the bull horn. Then pure adrenaline drove us to the waiting finish line, beating the boat beside us by half a second. So we had won our first race in the first heat! There were 3 heats total. Out of the all the teams racing (around 30), the 4 best times are selected and those 4 teams would race in the final. So we had two more chances to get a better time in order to qualify.
In the second heat we beat our time by 4 seconds. However, we came in third in our race, with the second place team beating us by a second.
By the third race, we were focused and I had never worked so hard in my life in a 3 minute time span. We were racing the best teams that the sport had to offer. We kept up with them more than half way but at the finish line we came in third once again. Of course, we were all a bit bummed, not understanding how we could have lost, but we had kept beating our time and keeping up with some very established teams, some who had been together for years, while our team was about 90 days old.
Ducky was extremely pleased with our performance which made us feel a bit better. We didn't win but we were in the top percentage. "If you're not having fun then you shouldn't be there anyway" was a very good point to bring up on Ducky's behalf.
It was a quick day and I had a chance to get to know my teammates a bit better. It also was a good chance to check out what other teams were like, what they wore, how they acted..ect.
There were elderly teams, blind teams, women only teams... they were all there, and all extremely well natured. I collected a few pictures (none of me unfortunately) of the boats and our surrounding areas. Ducky had taken video of us racing which is a bit frightening as he points me out and how my stroke could use improving. I hope some of his pictures turn out a bit better.

Posted in: chaosgurl, sport, united states on May 12, 2007 at at 6:06:00 PM 0 comments    

Fairlight Baths
Originally uploaded by Senex Prime.

I had breakfast on Sunday with two very good friends on mine, John and his wife, Nicole. They treated me to a fantastic feast at Manly and then we walked around for a final photographic essay of the area. This shot of the Fairlight Beach Baths sums up so many of the things I love – and will miss – about Sydney... the outdoors life, beautiful weather even in May, the Harbour, the Heads... all of it! As much as I'm looking forward (and I am looking forward to it!!!) to being with my Christine and exploring Portland and America together, there is no doubting that I'll miss this amazing city of mine.

Posted in: chaosboy, flickr, photography, Sydney on May 6, 2007 at at 11:51:00 PM 0 comments    

Visa
Originally uploaded by Senex Prime.

And this is it... the all-important K-1 Fiance Visa, safely affixed to my passport! It's taken a long time to get it, but my desire to get to the States and be with my Chaos Gurl has only got stronger and stronger the longer the process has taken... roll on the 15th!

Posted in: chaosboy, immigration on May 2, 2007 at at 2:54:00 AM 0 comments    

I booked my flights to Portland today! Having been completely unable to decipher the upgrade system on United Airlines' website, I finally resorted to calling their Customer Service phone number – oooo, how old fashioned! Unfortunately, all the seats on the Sydney to San Francisco leg of the trip were booked out for the 14th May - the date that Christine and I had decided upon - so I had to move everything one day later, to the 15th.

However, I have a confirmed upgrade to Business Class for the long haul flight, something for which my body sincerely thanks me. Then, for no apparent reason at all, United decided to upgrade me to First Class for the San Fran to Portland leg! I have to say that I wonder how much use First Class is on a two hour flight (especially one that doesn't do any food service), but it certainly will be fun finding out! And I'm certainly arriving in style!

Posted in: chaosboy, immigration on May 1, 2007 at at 4:58:00 AM 0 comments