I fly in at about 10:35pm into a one room airport with a tiny baggage claim structure right at the door. One shuttle service, one very confused driver trying to find his way to Acequia de las Joyas. We find it, and I see the stretch of dirt road that I now know very well. Two dogs were out, barking at the car. A bunny runs past. I find 944a but not 944. Then I realize "oh, that's door." I knock, and Nica answers. I enter the house and the living room is fully furnished, the entire space just screams that 3 young artistic women live here. Mismatched couches, so many rugs and weaves on all these surfaces. Sewing machine on the coffee table, and Nica sitting on a rug playing Katamari on her Playstation. I walk into Leena's room and while there is a clear space in the middle of the floor, I could not call it "neat." Her bed is two mattresses with more pads and layers and sheepskin. She has a box of plastic human figures on the floor. Nica walks in and hands me the key. I change the sheets on Leena's bed and sigh and lie down. I get up and begin to talk to Nica as she's playing the videogame. She tells me her story, a Santa Fe native since the age of 2, going to IAIA as a visual arts major because she loves working with her hands and bejewling hair accessories late into the night. We talk a bit more about the art scene at Santa Fe, how "Native American Art" is a required class here, how all the galleries blend together, the majority of the art scene being the kitschy SOUTHWEST theme (landscapes, cowboys, Indians, etc.), and that Native American art itself becomes a cliche as so much of it is the same for tourist purposes. She shows me the Reporter, and points out a show she'd like to see the next day, and tells me about how since Leena left and Astrea stopped sleeping in the house, she's been hearing chupacabras. Or maybe it's because she's been watching scary movies alone in the house. We talk more, and she asks me if I smoke pot and hands me her cracked (because she dropped it) pipe. I ask her to light for me and I breathe in once, and start hearing a singe--"what is that--oh my god your hair!" I look up and see some singed ends on my bangs. We laugh and I go to bed, shaking my head at the ridiculousness that will come.
Day 2 (June 3):
I wake up late, and the sun is bright and shining. I open my eyes and I see those hills and the arroyo for the first time from Leena's huge window. I rub my eyes and make sure I'm not dreaming. The landscape is so different, so much dust and dry heat and yet not barren as a hot unmerciful desert. After lying in bed, in wonder of the view expanding in front of me, I make myself breakfast and peach iced tea. I walk into what is supposed to be my room and sigh. Most of Astrea's furniture and all of her clothes are in the closet. Her presence here is great, even if it isn't physical. Nica wakes up around 1. I'm in Leena's room, listening to the sounds of the house as I can track her footsteps and actions. As I'm sitting in the kitchen waiting for the day to start, she comes and tells me that she's going to move out in a week or two. Her friends gave her the opportunity to live in a house for free and she's going to take it. Of course, Leena is freaking the shit out in Montreal. She drives me into downtown and we drop off the rent check for June to Suzy St. Clair Properties. She parked her car with all of the windows down because it's a piece of shit no one would jack anyway because there's only her trash in the back. We walk around downtown, down what I know now as West San Francisco St, drop into the Camera Shop. They don't have the film Nica wants, and I can't afford the Ti3. We walk down to the Cathedral and go inside. The Cathedral is beautiful and I sneak a few photos in. After that, we go walk a bit more but eventually get back into the car and she drives me to a grocery shop called Lowe's Marketplace. It's a bit expensive but I essentially get some things I know I'll eat. We get back to the house and she makes grilled chicken salad which is pretty good. We take a disco nap and get up to leave to go see the art show at Legends of Santa Fe: Supernatural and Para-Native Activity (The Chupacabra show). After that show, where I got an Izze, we walk down to Canyon Road and all up and down, dropping by into galleries that escape my memory right now. One was like the Chalk Gallery? So many of them really did seem like the next. A whole bunch with wind sculptures, another full of beautiful works but in a home-like setting/environment, a pretentious gallery but is its own surrealistic/fantasmic space with trees and art that is so tightly painted you wish you really did live in a fairytale candyland kind of world. We get back and the house is empty. No furniture, just some boxes, an empty suitcase, and Astrea's room just has a bedframe and all of her clothes in her closet. "Shit, it looks like Astrea came by." We can't get over how in 2 or 3 hours, everything disappeared. But that's life I guess. We get our shit together and leave again to Santa Fe Place (the mall) and go into Senor Murphys. I meet Nick, who is pearling while also manning the candy counter. I pay $4 but I have so much candy and green chile peanut brittle. Nica and I drive around again, snacking on our candy, and this time we end up at Walmart? After that we meet the others at the Soft Museum, where Nick and Autumn lives but this space will soon be purely for their art, their pearling works all over the place. Their wall is full of dorktacular things that are all comic books, Japanese, and artistic. I meet Autumn, Max, and Dylan. We all get into one car and drive off to the theaters to see X-Men:First Class. I will never get over the most racist editing part of that movie. After that we go back to the Soft Museum to talk about Xmen and dorkiness. I buy a pearled necklace of an 8-bit looking creamsicle for $10, I can't wait to commission them for more pieces. We call it a night at like midnight and head home. I am. exhausted.
Day 3 (June 4):
Woke up late again, made myself a sandwich for lunch the only way I know how. Nica wakes up and leaves the house. I debate whether I should go outside or not and decide "yeah I really should." I take the bus for the first time and the only other people on the bus is a Dine woman and her young daughter who just moved to Santa Fe a few months ago from Albuquerque. The bus driver can't stop babbling about how he's dated Native women from Acoma, how his aunt was so Apache she might as well be full blood. The Dine woman asks him what kind of Apache and he has no idea. He looks at me and says that everyone in the world is just related to each other at the end of the day. I nod in agreement. I get off the bus and I look for 141 East Palace. I figure out SWAIA's in the back of the building, and feel my way around downtown. I find myself sitting in the Subways, enjoying a nice cool drink and the Dine woman and her daughter from the bus walk in. We exchange small smiles as they eat lunch I leave. I find myself walking into ShipRock Santa Fe, where Teri Greeves' new show is up. It is absolutely beautiful, full of bead paintings of stories and warriors and of Jeri Ah-be-hill, Teri's mother. I also see the other pieces in the gallery, the Virgil Ortiz shelf, the rooms full of pottery and textiles. I am. filled with joy. I go back to Subway to get dinner: a turkey bacon avocado sandwich with green chile. Oh Santa Fe! I find my way back to the bus before it's too late and of course, the same bus driver and Dine woman are on again. I miss my stop by 2 miles and walk 2 miles along Agua Fria, cursing at myself but also appreciating the landscape around me. It's not too bad, but it isn't pleasant obviously. Once I'm home I can just finally breathe in. Nica comes and tells me that a friend is coming over--I bring up how Leena suggested to bring the white loveseat from outside and Nica and her friend bring it into the house. We then find a HUGE daddy long legs and trap it into the glass. I have trouble sleeping that night as Nica and her friend Aaron watch the movie, laugh, talk, smoke, drink, and hook up right in the livingroom. It isn't until about 3am that I crack open my door as a reminder that I am awake and aware. They giggle and move into her room. They don't stop the bass and music until about 5am.
Day 4 (June 5):
Sunday morning I wake up late, make myself lunch again, and go into the city to apply to work at the Olive Oil Store that Nica suggested to me. After I hand off my application I wander around and end up at Happy Hour at Milagro on W. San Francisco. I drink a glass of what tastes like watered down vodka but is red, and enjoy myself a $1 steak taco, $1 pulled pork slider, and a $6 burger with fries. I meet an old artist named Bill who tells me I'm very pretty and draws me a picture of his eagle insignia, which isn't half bad. I go home and try riding Leena's bike for a bit, which is fail on so many levels. But I'm just excited for my first day of work :)
Day 5 (June 6):
First day of work at SWAIA! I get in at 9am and meet John and Paula from Artist Services. They settle me in and I notice that my name is Tiffony Win on the computer (still is, I don't really care about it anymore). They give me a whole bunch of folders about the judges and I begin calling these 80 or so names. I meet so many people and forget who they are instantly. For my first day I went and had a burrito at the Burrito Company.
Day 6 (June 7):
Staff meeting at 9am and I'm introduced to the entire office. We also have a walk through at the La Fonda and I see La Terraza and that stunning view of the cathedral for the first time. I ask Lavita what I should get for lunch and she tells me I absolutely must try a frito pie from 5 and Dime, but the one from Chicago Dog is better. I go to Chicago Dog and yummmm frito pie!
- meeting astrea
- meeting amanda
- scorpions
- airbed
- SWAIA honoring dinner
- meeting Teri Greeves//facebook//interview
- leena's friends at corazon
- pool party with nica and autumn
- Tiphony/Tiffony
- massage therapy interview// friends with the hike at big tesuque/forest fire
- eggman and walrus art emporium with corey
- SITE and meowolf and railyard with amanda
- lunches with montana, corey, and shawna
- dyeing leena's hair
- talking for hours about heritage and race//Amanda's mom over my mom
- big trucks, animals
- bus tales
- corey's work at MoCNA (he's Acoma, not Dine)
- facebooking colleagues (i.e. Shawna, Lavita, John)
- business casual, cold new yorker
- walking past the Portal Artisan Program at the Palace of Governors
- opening my own account at the First National Bank of Santa Fe
- Inuit Graphics project with Edd
- Aux Vivres toasted coconut conspiracy/debacle
- SAR with bruce
- 2 days before yesterday
- burrito company with corey and montana (green chile cheeseburger and fries)
- rice with mongolian beef, spicy chicken, iced tea (chopstix for dinner)
day before yesterday
- skirt
- rooftop pizzeria with montana and corey//ice cream from 5 and dime
- bus to mall, applied for 6 jobs
- chinese food for lunch
yesterday
- work
- udon for lnch
- booking a room at the la fonda
- bus home
- subway dnner
- MASSAGE WITH AMANDA
today
- need to do bios
- chocolate croissant for breakfast
- PHOTO SHOOT AND BABYSITTING
- Zocalo
- Micah
- a-waiting
- Nica's new house
- Rouge Cat with Nica, Autumn, Max, and Dylan
- Max's house//Big Stupid aka Joe the pitbull//bearqueens
- NYC NEWS: PRIDE WEEKEND~
- Max promises to add sparkly tinsel to my hair
- Max: That girl is fertile. (Leena)
- Dylan: Any moment I can, I will be like 'EXCUSE ME. PLEASE DON'T TOUCH THE GLASS. THAT REALLY STRESSES OUT THE ANIMALS.'
- Leena: Gay bears are my ideal men. Except they can't they like women.
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