Day 3: Fulltimewizard.com

Portland, OR
8.3

WHERE ARE YOU?
Land of the Port, Port of the Land

WHAT'D YOU DO TODAY?
Woke up BRIGHT AND EARLY to get to the rooftop of Society Hotel, where we interviewed Adam Garcia, who is the COOLEST. It was really inspiring to hear about how he works through his own insecurities and anxieties by just pushing and working through them. His passion to connect with others on a deeper level was evident in not only his interview, but exemplified with tonight’s show: a collaboration/showcasing of creatives/artists/friends exploring the theme of vulnerability.

After the interview, we had some time to kill, so we got to chill for a minute. We ate some tasty food, took a much needed nap in Joey,  and just had some nice, quiet moments to ourselves.

Later in the evening, we made our way to the gallery show where we got the see Adam’s completed mural and all of the amazing pieces of work/installations. The space was bustling with so much life and energy, and it was great just to wander and explore, converse with others or simply just to people-watch. Danced some at the gallery, and danced A LOT at the after party, where the music was fun and funky, and everyone was vibing and having a good time.

HOW YAH FEELIN?
I think it was especially interesting how our first two interviews in Portland were with Kate and Adam (who are also great friends), who share similar passions of bringing people together whether it be in the form of events or workshops, but have very different approaches in “pursuing these passions” and I feel so lucky to be given the opportunity to hear from both of their perspectives + journeys to get to where they are now.

One of the biggest things I kept thinking and feeling about today (and I definitely felt the same way during/post Kate’s interview) was just a constant feeling of AWE and feeling so, so grateful towards these incredibly and genuinely COOL + WONDERFUL people that have been so willing to to help + participate in this wild project--plus an added bonus of doing this alongside my two best pals.

Whatta city. Whatta day.

sahm

WHERE ARE YOU?
PORTLAND!

WHAT'D YOU DO TODAY?
Left White Salmon at the crack of dawn to get into Portland for our interview with Adam at 8am. This coming from three not morning people is a BIG deal. The interview was awesome, we sat at the rooftop of the Society Hotel on the most perfectly lit day. Adam was amazing to talk to, as expected. It was really humbling to talk to a person like him on such a personal level. He’s the kind of person that has an idea, and follows through to do it no matter what (and the outcome, from what I’ve seen, is always incredible), like tonight’s show for example. From interviews and podcasts I’ve heard with him, people describe his as the “does it all” guy. They’re right. Being around him really gave me the itch to just create all the time and never stop.

After the interview, we were POOPED. We took a solid 3 hour nap in our lovely Joey. I woke up sweating like crazy, I’m pretty sure the collar of my shirt was completely soaked. But that’s okay because naps are the best and Joey is the best.

Later that day we went to Adam’s gallery. The show, Liminalia, was a collaboration between artists about vulnerability. It was interesting to see the drastic differences in which people visualize emotions, especially this one. Aside from the show, the atmosphere was beautiful. I just can’t get over the design community here in Portland. Adam and Kate are alike in that they are very people/relationships driven kind of humans and it really shows in the community that they’ve surrounded themselves with here in Portland. We had some cool conversations with some even cooler people (once we got over the small talk, I truly despise small talk it’s just the worst).

AND THEN...the after party. With Adam coming from a dance background, a little crew of dancers showed up. And they just took the night away, I was in awe and a purely joyful state the whole night. Also, not a single person was on their phone and everyone was dancing, talking, having a good time. THE BEST.

HOW YAH FEELIN?

I feel very welcome. Portland has been really good to us and has been the perfect start to this trip.

I had a really good conversation today with the Sa(h)ms about our dynamic as a group and I feel incredibly lucky to have them.

:) Dana

WHERE ARE YOU?
Portlandia, Oregonia

WHAT'D YOU DO TODAY?
ADAM’S INTERVIEW LIKE DAMN. So great to chat with him and hear his story. His perspective on design and how he's created a creative space for himself and others that reflect his beliefs and passions so wholly is incredible. What an inspiring dude. I love that him + Kate are such good friends and we got to interview them both <3 They’re both such amazing organizers and cheerleaders in the design scene here, it’s so so cool.

Adam does so much that I feel like many people would think they were unable to do for various reasons. But he meets people, makes connections, follows his passions and makes stuff like the show Liminalia (opening tonight) happen! I want to do that. Ignore the why nots and just make whatever I’m really into happen. Maybe it takes a little extra, but from talking to Adam and our first couple days on this trip, it's definitely worth it if it really does something for you.

There are no bounds for this dude. I mean, he wants to be a wizard when he grows up. And honestly I believe he can do even that.

Of course, we’d gotten up at 5:17 (who the fuck sets a 5:17 alarm??), so post interview we got a long slow breaky which was amazing and then drove up to the Portland Japanese Garden. Not for the garden, but to take our first on the road nap in Joey! And boy was it the bees knees. Slept like a gosh darn baby for like 3 hours.

Woke up for coffee + doodlin an angry sahm from this morning when Dana + I were pullin’ some quality yokes on her (see Dana’s illustration for the day).

AND THEN, post nap, coffee, + a delicious din at Teote, we headed over the the opening of Liminalia. Such cool work, such a cool crowd. Makes me want to be a part of Portland’s design community for sure. Because it really feels like a community. It definitely made us realize how little we’ve actually talked to people in the design world and it was really hard without the structure of our interviews. BUT, I think we came out of our shells a bit and we’re all really excited to have the opportunity to meet so many such cool people. Hopefully, over the course of these two months, it becomes no big deal and we can hang up our hella awkward small talking hats FOR GOOD. Small talks hard and I want to figure out how to move past it real quick into the good stuff. Cause people are cool but you don’t get that out of small talk.

AND THEN, there was the after party. Everyone was there for the people +/or the dance. And I can’t wait to break it down again at White Owl on Saturday (thanks for the invite Anton <3). This could be a regular thing and I wouldn’t be mad about it.

HOW YAH FEELIN?
WOW WOW WOW. Every day has had it’s downfall, but they’ve also had some real high highs. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Except maybe today when we woke up in the van in the 105 degree afternoon heat. I wanted to be somewhere else then for sure. But just for a hot sec. A real hot sec.

As a crew we had a really good talk about how we function as a group and I’m just so happy to have these lovely ladies with me. We have all the best times, but when things get not great, it’s no biggie, we can talk it out and I forever trust they care about and support me like I do them. <3

- sam