Moving Back

Yesterday, I stood outside the front of my new building waiting to let a few of my friends inside to see our place. As I was standing there, checking my phone, a beat-up 90's Corolla drove past me on its way across the St John's Bridge. It honked. I looked up. The passenger flipped me off.

The duo was white, probably in their 20's. Male or female, doesn't matter. I want to say I flipped them off right back, but my reaction time to aggression is never fast. I just stood there.

There's a lot of hate among native Portlanders for Invaders. Housing prices have gone up exponentially, so we say "All those Californian's are buying up our houses, and we can't afford to live here." An influx of young professionals means old houses are torn down and apartment complexes are put up. It's natural growth, and it has major problems, but it's also bound to happen. If you want to live in a West Coast city and you're not in tech, Portland is really the only place to go. It really is a beautiful city. I don't blame people for wanting to be here. But I still hold a little bit of that resentment myself, because I'm perceived as being One Of Them.

I went to a low-income high school that provided job opportunities for all of us. The kids I went to school with--myself, included--have fought hard to go to college, to get into a trade, to climb that job ladder. I shouldn't be ashamed of my successes--my classmates aren't. But I'm white and middle class and I look like One Of Them, so I am ashamed.

This isn't a plea for sympathy or reassurance. It's more of a reminder for me not to be one of those natives who hates. On a national level, I've never had respect for people who are anti-immigration (in fact, I don't think borders should even exist), so it's funny that I find myself feeling so aggressive towards first-generation Portlanders.

I guess the money thing is relevant. I have a bad relationship with money. I hate it. The privileges a steady income comes with are great--food, happy cats, internet, the ability to write and make art and volunteer my time--but knowing that I have more than someone else kills me.

I feel better after writing this. I don't think I'll publish it, but I'll save it. I have to verbally process this shit, you know? Good people don't honk at randos on the street and make them feel like shit. Good people figure their shit out and try their hardest, and it's all ok.

t-minus 75 hours

Everything is packed into three suitcases and two small carry-ons.

Moving feels real weird, man.

Submissions Open for Tudor Close: A Collection of MYSTERY Stories!!

If you like writing and you like mysteries (or if you make totally sweet commix), you should absolutely apply to be in this collection. If you are chosen to take part, you get paid at least $40 (more based on profits made from selling the collection). Read the directions, and apply the heck out of this.

Tudor Close, a Collection of Mysteries

The Apiary invites you to submit your work to Tudor Close, a collection of short mysteries. Please read guidelines carefully, because the instructions are very particular!

     Our short story collections are unified around a single element – for example, the stories in our adventure collection, The Egret’s Crossing, all mentioned a bar in Tangier. In this collection, all stories will mention a mansion called Tudor Close.
     We know that there’s a limited market for mystery shorts, so to submit to this collection, please send a sample of 1,000-2,000 words, written in a style that reflects how you would write this particular story, along with a very brief cover letter telling us a little bit about yourself. The writing sample doesn't have to be a mystery, it just needs to show your unique voice and ability. We strive to publish diverse voices.
     We’ll select seven stories to include in Tudor Close. Stories can take place any time post-16th century and into the future; word count can range from 3,000-6,000 words. Each mystery will reference Tudor Close. Deadline to submit your writing sample: August 1, 2015. Drafts will be due September 15; books will be published in December 2015. Tudor Close will be available in print and ebook, and profits will be divided among the writers.

To submit, please email killian.czuba@gmail.com with the subject "Tudor Close Submission."

for more about The Apiary and our projects, check us out here!
http://www.apiarylife.org

New Prints! PIGEONS

I have new prints up on Society6! They come with or without the pithy greetings.

They are dirty Portland pigeons--for all the PDX natives who can never find the right visual representation of their city.

Print 1: Portland Pigeons enjoy trash outside of Big Pink.
Print 2: Pigeon enjoys its perch/poop spot on the top of the Kvinneakt (or "naked lady") statue, made famous by of Bud Clark and his "exposure" to art.

Prints 1.5 and 2.5 have greetings and welcomes. CLASSIC PORTLAND.

Special thanks to Hobart and Aaron Burch for inviting me to make these for an interview piece that will be coming out soon. I'll link to that as soon as it's out. You'll definitely want to read it.

You can buy my prints (mugs, t-shirts, stationary, etc etc etc) here.