Carwash

We had a really fun sesh out at the Carwash last Wednesday with Eric, Juan, Pat, Mark, Gordon and Chris. Eric took some footy, check it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5heclrOAOmk

Furniture?

Ethan - ready for TOFUrky!

Well, it is the eve of Thanksgiving and I got out of work early! I am waiting to pick up Callahan and go shred the ramp. For the first time I think I am getting some "me" time - chillin' drinking coffee and updating my blog!! This is as relaxing as it gets for me. Ha! My school is undergoing a gestapo like Internet sanction limiting our usage to school email and online classes.

So for fear of being found out as a degenerate skateboarder, I have opted to update my blog off campus. Not that it matters, I am not slamming faculty member (although I would like to) or breaking the law or whatever.



Anyway - Furniture - I had a ghost post a few weeks back with no photos and such regarding my insane surge of furniture building. I must say that I nearly killed myself this semester dealing with school stuff, building the ramp, dealing with departmental BS and moving. Plus - the election. UGH!

I even got my cat back!

So as the ramp neared completion, I decided to move. Smart right? I moved an hour away from the ramp - dumb? Well the way I see it, my sanity depended on moving back to Chicago, continuing with my art career and not slowly dying creatively. I want to make art and exhibit again and getting in that urban environment (and having a studio) will help. So, I moved back to Pilsen although not in PODland. They charge way too much for their spaces. They are really cool spaces but it is getting very yuppie around there and will soon become the trend-zone if it is not already. I do wish I still had the gallery though - I really loved doing that.

I actually had big plans for this year with better connections and all. But I figured that I would go bankrupt sometime this year and did what i did to get the credit card demons off my back.

Anyway - back to the now - I build a bunch of furniture and stuff for the place:




I have been wanting to build a couch for years now. But my last two places really were not up to having a couch. But since my new place is a real apt - couch works!



I had the design in my head so the process was really not that difficult. I actually made a few tables in this same way a few years back so I knew what to do! It is a 2 x 6" frame with sanded poplar 1 x 3"s and 2's wrapped around the frame. this gives it that floating effect that International style sky scrapers had - you can not see the feet of the couch.

I like to think of these couches and tables as architecture anyway.





Dacia gave me some cushions last year from an old couch that she had. So I cleaned and dyed the covers gray. So the whole thing cost about $80. Maybe an Ikea couch is almost as cheap but I had a lot of fun building the thing.






I got a cool table from Calabro at his aunt's estate sale. I decided to refinish it. It was a very rapid refin but it works. Thanks Calab!






My place is super small - it has two bedrooms but they are really the size of a closet. So, for my area to sleep - I had to go back to the old twin bed. I made this frame out of the old erector set metal shelving stuff ? I found a bunch of it on the back 5 where my dad dumped it 20 years ago. It is rusty and nasty - I should just sell it to the yuppies up north for big-K



I also needed a kitchen table. So I decided to use the inner waste from the transitions I cut for the ramp. Scotty Karate always said that he wished he could figure out what the heck to do with them. Well you could build a table top or a skim board. Or, you could build a table top in the shape of a skim board!! thats what I did.



I took three pieces of 3/4" plywood and glued them together. I think that I should have glued them first, then cut out the shapes. Sanding them was a pain in the ass. I still didn't get the ply's perfectly flush but it is good enough. I also made an additional one for some skimin' next year!

Milly 11/21-23

So we hit up 4 Seasons twice this past weekend. Kevin was on vacation so he MC and I went to both Cream City and 4 Seasons on Friday. I have no pics of this sesh but it was fun! Pat met up with us for the night sesh. It was a good day - cold out but fun. We hit up the Palomino my favorite restaraunt in Milwaukee for some good food! They usually have punk rock waitresses but this time it was a bunch of down home girls or something?




I was hoping to have a big sesh at the ramp Saturday but everyone bailed on me. That kinda sucked. Callahan was the only one still in but I just told him forget it. So I spent most of the day trying to get my new torpedo heater working. I bought it that morning for a pretty penny I must say. But I think it works really well.

I decided to pick up a propane powered one to cut down on the stink. Kerosene heaters eat gas like crazy and smell terrible. The propane is expensive too but the smell is not quite as bad. I'm sure it is bad for you also though.

Once I got it to fire up (I had a bad tank and had to exchange it) the place heated up in 20 min. It was about 25 degrees out that day and it took about 1/2hour for the heat to dissipate. I had the temp set at just below half so I figure if I do this for 20 min on the hour we should be good. It does not get to 80 degrees or anything. But it does make it more comfortable and skateable! SO hopefully that problem is solved.

Our sesh worked out pretty well on Sunday. We decided to go for a night sesh and ride with Jeff and some of the Milwaukee dudes. Not everyone showed and we had some no shows too but it was still fun. The bummer was that all these Chicago dudes went in the morning. So, we missed the big sesh. It is hit or miss though so you are either in a heavy sesh with snakes everywhere or it is you and a scooter kid in the bowl. Winter time! ahhh

Milwaukee 11/15

We got our first trip to 4-Seasons in Milwaukee last Saturday. Good fun! I only got a few shots when we were gettin' ready to leave but I'll try to start posting skateboarding again on this blog! No more construction pics.




My photos full on suck, My version of photo shop expired and I am not sure how to correct photos in iphoto. There is no save button on the version I have. BUT, I finally realized that Preview on mac now allows you to rotate, flip and resize photos. So who needs Photoshop now anyway??

more better pics to come. We are gonna go Friday and probably again Sunday this week.

furniture?

Rather than skating everyday my last two weeks have been filled with other obligations. The first is work of course but the other big project is the ramp. That has taken up most of my time for the last two months. But during that time I have always fit a session most every day.

However, I recently took an apartment and have had double duty happening. I have made several trips moving my belongings like most of us do. However, I always refuse to rent a moving van and rarely ask for help to move. The last move I used my Honda Fit which must have taken at least 20 trips. I work in the South Burbs so I was able to take a load in after work and stay south or north and work it out that way, little by little.

I did the same thing this time but I was using Calabro's VAN!. Ha. So the trip[s were less. In fact, I was so efficient about it, I would






Well, yes. I am a cheap bastard and usually try to get away with as much as I can. The only problem is that my moral code does not allow me to lie, cheat or steal. I am not some kind of crazy religious fanatic but I was raised a certain way... So, rather than steal cars to buy other things, I always try to make them first. (if I can).

I have this thing for making furniture when ever I move into a new place. Did I tell you that I finally got a new place? Yep, back in Pilsen again but away from Pod land. screw 'em. I am in the neighborhood now, hopefully it will be a good experience. My place is very small but good and cheap and that is what I was searching for. The furnace is new and it has been recently updated.