Chaos Love: love, life, design and more.

It's Cam's birthday today! So far I have made him feel extra special by reminding him of the miracle of life inside me and the nausea that it brings. By not eating in my sleep, I wake up feeling fine for about 20 minutes until my body turns on me. Of course eating crackers in the middle of the night is not very appealing and I'm still getting into a rhythm of how this all works. Tonight we'll have a few people over, grill up some steaks and see how I last. Having quite a few errands to run today, hopefully I can keep it together enough for Cam to have an enjoyable day :)

Posted in: chaosgurl, chaoslove, pregnancy on February 15, 2010 at at 10:44:00 AM 0 comments    

Wow! Our wedding got blogged! We're famous-like! The wonderfully bizarre Offbeat Bride, a site dedicated to unusual, non white-dress weddings saw our pictures on Flickr and featured us on their blog. Cheers to them for loving our wacky ways!

Posted in: chaosboy, chaoslove, internet, wedding on July 30, 2007 at at 6:13:00 PM 0 comments    

So, finally all our planning has come to fruition.

Early on a grey Portland Saturday, Christine and I were joined by our family and friends in our little space-themed ceremony and became husband and wife. Everything went perfectly and we couldn't have asked for anything more (well, maybe a more spectacular sunrise, but what can you do?).

Our costumes - lovingly made by Linda, Christine's dad's fiancée - were absolutely fantastic and admired by everyone. As you can see in the photo above, Christine looked super cute in her "future manga" suit. The ceremony itself was short and simple and our friend Kevin did a great job as our Alien Overlord ... in one of those "only in America" moment, he signed up as our non-denominational minister on the internet in the weeks leading up to the ceremony. The Universal Life Church simply asks for your name and email address and then ordains you via email! This is becoming increasingly popular here, as more and more people want a friend presiding over their wedding, rather than an impersonal judge or minister. Kevin certainly looked the part in his huge cloak and weird alien glasses.

It was wonderful for me to have my parents come all the way out from Australia for the ceremony, and although it probably wasn't quite the wedding they imagined for one of their sons, they really got into the spirit of things. Dad even donned a white radiation suit to greet us in, looking like a scientist from Area 51!

Before we knew it, the wedding was over and the next stage of our life had begun! After all the planning and hoop-jumping to get to this stage, it almost felt anti-climactic for it to be over so soon, but we definitely enjoyed the moment. Now I have to get my residency application in to the US Government ASAP (before the application fee rises three-fold to over $US1000 at the end of July!!) and the process will be complete... finally!!

There are lots of pix from the wedding in both our Flickr accounts, by the way, so feel free to take a look!

Posted in: chaosboy, chaoslove, portland, wedding on July 27, 2007 at at 12:50:00 AM 0 comments    

Posted in: chaosgurl, chaoslove on June 27, 2007 at at 8:03:00 PM 0 comments    

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    

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    

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    

Suddenly the tables have turned and I'm the one having nothing to do but wait while Cam runs around to do a hundred errands at once! And yes, I am complaining. But we are sooo thrilled that suddenly we have an ETA and that is going to be very soon!! I have reached a point where, no matter where I am at or what i am doing, I feel tired of always doing it alone. I have been able to live alone for years, travel alone, be content doing my own thing. But I am so ready now for Cam and I to start sharing our personal existences with each other! We've been there, done that and now we are going to mesh like peanut butter and jelly. And now I kinda feel like illustrating that....

Whats also more thrilling is that people ask me about Cam and when he is arriving all the time. As if there was a genuine concern for when our reunion will be happening! These are people, whom most of the time, I can't remember their names... It's a beautiful thang. And now that it is starting to get warmer, an All American BBQ is certainly required in order to induce Cam's new status of Americanish!! Huzzah!!

Nothing much else to report except that I am more excited everyday for my love to show up at my door. And the fact that I STILL have tortillas in my fridge.

Posted in: chaosgurl, chaoslove, immigration on April 29, 2007 at at 9:19:00 PM 0 comments    

There are probably some of you out there who have read Christine's last post and are now sitting there scratching your head. "Is she serious?", you're asking yourself. Or, "You can't do that for a wedding!" Well, here's what I think about the matter...

One of the things that I love most about Christine is that she sees the world through unconventional eyes. Doing things the same as everyone else is not for her. And it has a wonderful effect on me, because it makes me look at things differently as well, question why things should be done just because that's the way things are. And her vision of our wedding as space opera is just such an example of that. At the very least, there's a lovely metaphor of the exploration of our future lives together to be had.

Now, I've done the traditional wedding: itchy grey suit and tie for me, (admittedly lovely) white dress for my ex-wife, marriage celebrant in the beautiful grounds of the family property in the Southern Highlands near Sydney, the whole nine yards. It was a great day and everything was perfect, but I don't want or expect this to be replicated with this wedding. I - like Christine - am after something new and different, something that sums up our adventurous spirit and the way we want to live our life together. Free. Exciting. Unrestrained.

I think it fair to note here that if I had come up with something for this wedding by myself, it wouldn't have been as "far out" as what Christine is imagining. But her enthusiasm for the idea is so infectious, that I can't help but be excited by the idea myself. And getting Christine enthused and passionate about the ceremony itself is very important, because in a lot of ways I don't think she ever imagined herself as getting married at all.

It's easy to think is that Christine isn't taking the idea of marriage seriously, that this is just some kind of big joke to her, but nothing could be further from the truth. Christine and I have talked extensively about the responsibilities and promises inherent in a marriage, and she is fully aware of all of these things. (In fact, I've probably made extras sure of her comprehension because of the way my first marriage collapsed.) It's just the actual ceremony that she worries about, and being able to shape it the way she wants is very important to her. Her need in this case is far more important than mine, so I'm up for whatever makes her happy.

In the end, it doesn't matter to me what we wear or do, as long as the legal requirements of the State of Oregon are met, and - more importantly - as long as we truly mean what we say when we exchange our vows. The external appearance is fleeting; it's what's in our hearts that truly matters.

Posted in: chaosboy, chaoslove, wedding on April 13, 2007 at at 3:20:00 AM 1 comments    

I thought I would take this time to fill you in on this "wedding" that will be taking place this July.

It will be a different mix to most weddings and it may be hard to call it a wedding at all and more of a performance art piece. The idea of organizing a wedding sounds as boring as talking to grass... which I don't do often and hardly recommend. SO. What I have come up with is a project in which Cam and I will be celebrating our new life and expressing the exploration which the years will bring with Portland as our unexplored frontier. We will be prepared for this challenge, dressed in full astronaut suits ready to take on whatever the day may throw at us.

With equipment of a DV camera, small trampoline, and our small crew we will set out on the town. What we hope to create is a short montage film of Cam and I appearing many places within and out of the city, running, jumping or just sitting on the MAX. The footage will be edited later and slowed down in order to create effects of weightlessness and freedom. Scenes will include sunrise above the city, playing cricket in a park, riding the MAX, skipping over a bridge, and then eventually the ceremony.

THE CEREMONY will include Cam, myself and Kevin Marcott as our alien pastor. Communicating through an alien tranlator, Kevin will speak in his alien tongue which will be repeated in English throught the translator. Cam and I will exchange words (in English for the family) and then from there we may be sucked into the mothership and taken to a far off destination that has not yet been disclosed, but probably a pub of sorts :D

Cam and I may begin the filming process a week or so in advance so the family will not have to follow us for an entire day participating in our crazy hijinks. The exact date will be posted as soon as Cam gets around to getting his VISA and actually landing in the country first. Details are still being processed but now you can rest easy that the situation is not up in the air. LOL! Pun totally intended!

Posted in: chaosgurl, chaoslove, wedding on April 11, 2007 at at 1:10:00 PM 0 comments    

Despite our bad luck, I would like to announce to the table that there have been many good things despite idiots in our beauracracies and Cam and I being so far apart.

A Prost! to hearing back from the Australian Forsenic Dept. in the first place!
A Prost! to Matt being 30!
A Prost! to Kat being 21!
A Prost! to us winning our first Dragon Boat race of the year against Ducky's evil old team!
A Prost! to expensive life jackets!
A Prost! to Chaos Streak looking more like the original drawing than a bunch of polygons!


A Prost! to getting a raise and actually having money to spend!
A Prost! to Widmer and their yummy consumable beer
A Prost! to Portland for not raining for an entire week!
A Prost! to Cam's patience, for he is doing all the legwork here. I'm just waiting here patiently for him :D
A Prost! to bicycles, even if they don't go fast and make funny noises
A Prost! to blogging. Because it makes me realize how much more you can do in your time and how much recording can be done, even if your audience couldn't care less
AND A Prost! to love. Because I wouldn't typing this if I wasn't prepared to wait for however long it takes for Cam to get over here. My one and only.

Posted in: blog, chaosgurl, chaoslove on March 15, 2007 at at 11:17:00 PM 0 comments    

Her Mark
Originally uploaded by Senex Prime.

I felt like being creative tonight... so here's a glimpse of the tattoo that I had done at the same time as Chaosgurl's engagement ring. On days when I feel that the distance that separates us is just too enormous, I always look at this and am reminded of her...

Sorry for being so soppy, but that's the way it is :-)

Posted in: chaosboy, chaoslove, flickr, photography on March 6, 2007 at at 3:47:00 AM 0 comments    

CG: Wow. My baby is amazing! Here we have Chaosboy's Australian BIRTHDAY TODAY and he sends me the coolest, most badass gift for Valentine's Day yesterday! I already sent something awesome to Australia but I'm fighting for words and struggling to honour his b'day when I just can't escape the spotlight after this awesome rendering of me as a sexy Transformer. I just can't believe what a surprise this was! I am really in awe at how cool I am.


They call me Chaos Streak and I transform into a pimpin 1958 Plymouth Fury (also famously known as Christine) and my ultimate weapon is mind control (because those manual weapons can get heavy and clunky). My awesome rocket boots enable me to fly around because its easier than turning into a car. And Im also 40 feet tall.


I drive around with Senex Prime, speed racing the corners, always from something shooting at us as we strive to save yet another endagered robot planet. That Senex is such a hottie.

Happy Birthday my love! May we always be on an adventure, drive cool cars and be awesome robots with witty satire and rockin 80's music themes.

Posted in: art, chaosgurl, chaoslove, transformers on February 14, 2007 at at 8:13:00 AM 0 comments    

CB: Chaos Gurl's previous post regarding Convention vs. Fun in weddings has got me thinking a bit. As you may or may not know, I have been previously married, and that wedding ceremony was one of those "conventional" weddings with suits, the white dress and all that tradition that she mentions...

So where does that leave me? Does this previous wedding become the "wrong" kind of wedding, to be denounced as boring and uber conventional? Should I go out of my way to make our wedding different and unusual, just to turn my back on this past?

After a bit of thought, I don't think I need to worry. My previous wedding was "right" for the time, place and relationship I was in then - it suited us as a couple. We enjoyed planning everything together and had a fantastic day with our family and friends and I wouldn't have changed a thing.

But Chaos Gurl is a completely different person to my ex-wife, and by that alone, our wedding is going to have a character that suits us as a couple. I also know that I have a different outlook on life than I did back then – more outgoing, more adventurous and more confident – and this also will have an effect on our wedding.

I know that I don't want to revisit the past, or replace it with a newer, but almost identical, present. I want to experience new things, try different approaches to life and Chaos Gurl inspires me to do that every day. I have nothing to worry about.

Posted in: chaosboy, chaoslove, wedding on February 10, 2007 at at 2:19:00 AM 1 comments    

CG: I've never paid attention to weddings. They are odd, medieval-like affairs, with traditions that must be obeyed and families that must sit on their own designated sides. There is always a cake, there is always a ring bearer, there is always a white dress amongst black suits. I think people are getting the hang of getting away from this convention, but after scourging the internet, those people all seem to be in Australia. Maybe its that cool and laid back atmosphere that people just feel the need to put together something a little off track. And I'll get back to that...

The idea of an anti-wedding is appealing but the law says that we must go through the motions in order for my Cameron to stay in my country. Would we get married if the US Govt wasn't standing in our path? Maybe, maybe not, but we would be together anyway, and it would still be perfect.

So with this Blog, I plan to explore a bit more of this conventional vase that we find ourselves in and how we can crack through it but still keeping it in one piece.

Posted in: blog, chaosgurl, chaoslove, wedding on February 8, 2007 at at 8:51:00 PM 0 comments    

The Anti-Engagement Ring
Originally uploaded by chaosgurlpink.

CB: So, this is Chaosgurl's engagement ring! Yes, it's a tattoo! Yes, it's on the right hand, rather than the left! But it's still perfect in every way and suits her so well. Tyler at Infinity Tattoo in Portland did a great job with a very fiddly job... as he said, "It's like trying to tattoo a hot dog!"

What I want to know is when did he try to tattoo a hot dog??

Posted in: chaosboy, chaoslove, portland, united states on at at 5:16:00 AM 0 comments