Kim Brewer

Kim Brewer

From: Arizona  Been in Portland for 9 months

TRUNKS: O’Neil and Roxy handbags 

In Bag:

Bag One:

- Samsung phone (home)

- iphone (work)

- Olympus point and shoot digital camera

- Lexus 250 car keys (she didn’t drive today)

- 3 lists of contacts (for potential members a book club website she is creating)

- Notes from a meeting

- 2 Tri-met tickets 

- Receipt from Best Buy (Indiana Jones movies)

- Receipt for Willamette jet boat

- Bank Receipts

- Eye drop prescription from doctor

- Receipt from Oregon zoo

- Receipt from Urban Fauna

- Makeshift wallet (purchased in Europe)

- Passport

- Glasses (nearsighted)

- Small Knife

- Sunscreen spf 30

- Carmex

- One-dollar coin

- .45 cents in change

- One-dollar bill

- 2 bobby pins

 

Bag Two:

- Portland Trail Blazers blow up stick (from game against Utah Jazz)

- MacBook

- Computer charger

- Chapstick

- Sweet Talk lip balm

- List from Winery

- Old envelops for checks from clients

- Wine regions map of Germany

- Receipt from doctor

- 2 Tri-met ticket stubs

- Receipt from Vineyard

- Receipt from “Living Room Theater”

- Bank receipts

- Receipts from Cha Cha Cha

- Opened and unread letter from bank

- One bobby pin

- Receipt from Plaza Teriyaki

- Receipt from Wall Greens

 

 

DP: So you’ve been in Portland for nine months, do you like it here?

KB: Yeah, it’s very pretty.

 

DP: What part of town are you living in?

KB: I live downtown on the waterfront between the Steel and Broadway bridges.

 

DP: Do you like it there?

KB: Yeah, it’s beautiful. It’s literally on the river and I have a deck I can get out on.

 

DP: Coming from Arizona, the weather most be a bit different for you, do you like it?

KB: Not when it rains a lot and it’s freezing… But yeah, I like it now.

 

DP: Would you say you like it more or less then Arizona?

KB: It kind of depends, I like Arizona when it’s not smoldering hot but I like it in Portland more in the summer, so I don’t know.

 

DP: Did you move to Portland because you already had a job here or did you just come here randomly?

KB: Actually my whole company moved here.

 

DP: What kind of work do you do?

KB: I do web design, mainly web applications.

 

DP: What kind of businesses would you say you mainly design for?

KB: All kinds, but they’re mainly start up companies.

 

DP: Being so close to your work, would you say that you find it convenient to transport everything you need in your bag/bags?

KB: Yeah, sometimes I just bring my laptop but today I felt like having a bag, so I did.

 

DP: But you have two bags?

KB: Well that way I can have regular things in one bag and my laptop secluded in the other.

 

DP: Do you use your laptop a lot for work?

KB: Yeah, I can work from almost anywhere.

 

DP: Is it easy for you to get around?

KB: Yeah, I like taking the max.

 

DP: Where do you take the max?

KB: I take it around downtown a lot and to the airport, but a still do drive a bit.

 

DP: Do you go to the Airport to pick up clients or is it for travel?

KB: I travel a lot.

 

DP: Where was the last place you went?

KB: To Europe.”

 

DP: Did you have a favorite place that you went?

KB: Definitely Greece, It’s really pretty, everyone’s really nice, and they love Americans.

 

DP: Was there a part of the trip that you didn’t like?

KB: Probably Spain, I had my wallet stolen there.

 

DP: After looking over the contents of your bag, would you consider yourself fairly organized?

KB: Hahaha uhh, no.

 

DP: It seems that you don’t have the things necessary for being gone a long time from your home. Would you say you use your bag as a way of just taking the bare necessities from home, knowing that you are going to be back soon?

KB: “Yeah, definitely. It was different when I was in a place like Europe. I’m so close to home I don’t really need to bring a lot of stuff.

 

DP: If you could only have one item from all the things we found in your bags today what would it be?

KB: Uhh, well this may sound really weird but my phone.

 

DP: Which one?

KB: My iphone, it’s kind of a safety thing. 

Travis Meyer

Travis Meyer

From: Minneapolis Minnesota. Been in Portland one year.

TRUNK: Chrome Backpack   Size: Ivan

LARGE IMAGE

In Bag:

- Weed Grinder

- Zig Zag rolling papers

- JoB rolling papers

- Water bottle

- Half smoked cigarette

- Bike light for cab

- Tire levers

- Pilot G2 .07 pen

- Willamette Week Paper

- Wireless MAC computer mouse

- Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick”

- Mole Skin journal

- Wallet

- Modified Dockers cotton derby hat

- Bike lock

- Top filters

- Portland map

- Receipt from Tiny’s coffee

- Other random receipts

- Old deli meat zip lock bag (for safely transporting burritos)

- Empty pack of American Spirit cigarettes (Blue)

- Half full pack of American Spirit cigarettes (Blue)

- 14 dollars

- Headphones

- Empty Cliff Bar rapper

DP: How long have you been doing pedi cab?

TM: Three weeks.

 

DP: Do you like it?

TM: Yeah, best job I’ve ever had.

 

DP: Have you been meeting a lot of people?

TM: In the past three weeks I have met about 2000 people. I’ve seen a shanking, 7 fist fights and I do beer pick-ups every other hour. Just the other night, this dude crashed in a Denali, he totaled his car and another car. You meet a lot of douche bags, especially posting out in front of a place like “Dirrty”, in China Town, on a Saturday night.

 

DP: How often do you work?

TM: As often as I need to make money.

 

DP: Do you ride another bike other then this?

TM: Yeah, I have a Doss Chromoly frame.

 

DP: Do you ever ride the pedi cab around just for fun when you’re not working?

TM: No, I just ride it to make money.

 

DP: So if you had to specify your TRUNK between either the Chrome backpack or the Pedi cab’s actual trunk, which one would you choose?

TM: The chrome bag definitely, it’s my life.

 

DP: You had a fare amount of receipts in your bag, would you say you clean it out much, if ever?

TM: Rarely, I didn’t know those receipts were in there.

 

DP: You’ve been in Portland a year, do you like it?

TM: Portland is definitely where it’s at, it’s a good stopover place. I’ll be here for two or three years to finish my BA and then move on to some other place or country.

 

DP: Where are you going to school?

TM: PSU

 

DP: Do you like it there?

TM: I haven’t been yet, I start this fall.

 

DP: Is your journal for just writing down information or do you write more seriously?

TM: Actually yeah, right now I’m writing a novel.  When I leave Portland I’m hoping to write a novel that will encompass [Portland] in some way.

 

DP: What are you writing about right now?

TM: Right now it’s about Minneapolis, where I was living before.

 

DP: “How long were you in Minneapolis?

TM: eight years.

 

DP: Did you like living there?

TM: Yeah, it was alright.”

 

DP: Were you living with your family or something?

TM: Um, my family lives there, but I lived with my ex for six years. She left me for an Australian shoegaze musician, she went on vacation and she never came back.

 

DP: So your Pedi Cab is a really interesting take on the premise of TRUNK, with its actual trunk space. If you could only bring one thing with you everyday when you work, what would it be?

TM: water bottle and cigarettes.

 

DP: Just the bare necessities, I see.

TM: Yeah.”

 

DP: So is this your Pedi Cab or do you work for a business?

TM: No, it’s my friend’s [cab]. He runs a company and just has one Pedi Cab. I park it in front of my house, take it out whenever I want, and give a percentage of my earnings to him.

 

DP: Does he ever take it out?

TM: he actually doesn’t live in the city right now.

 

DP: Hahaha, this friend of yours doesn’t really exist, does he?

TM: Haha, He’s too real.

 

DP: You mentioned something about train hopping when we were taking shots of your TRUNK, when was that?

TM: I did that last June, with that Chrome bag, that was all I had on me.

 

DP: I know those bags pack a lot, but was that enough space?

TM: Yeah, they fit a lot. I strapped a canvas tarp on the top of it. It was really great, I could just strap it on to the top of the shoulder straps with some rope and just lasso it on.

 

DP: When you’re not doing Pedi Cab and you’re just out with your bag, is there anything that you would always have with you that you don’t have today?

TM: Um, my computer and burritos.

 

DP: You’re just a man of essentials, do you have a favorite burrito in town?

TM: Yeah, Santeria, on Burnside and Broadway, it’s attached to Mary’s Strip club right next to Tug Boat.

 

DP: Do you find this bag to be convenient with your life style?

TM: Oh yeah, I don’t know how people go out without backpacks, you know? You can spot them and you’re like, “That dude drives a car”.  I have friends that live in Woodstock, and so it’s like, I’m going to Woodstock and I’m packing up my life, you know?  I have no idea what’s going to happen to me, I could end up sleeping somewhere and not being back for days.

Anthony ?

Anthony ?

From: Nebraska

TRUNK: Outdoor Products bag

LARGE IMAGE

Contents:

- Leopard print Underwear

- 2 Slayer patches

- Pictures from sister’s wedding (one year ago)

- 8 skate wheels. Sizes: 64 & 60

- One empty ring pack (for16 oz cans)

- Court information papers for criminal mischief

- Piece of paper with a phone number (“She bought me dinner and a hotel room once.”)

- 1 lens for glasses (not sure for what stigmatism)

- Stash Tea bag (English Breakfast)

- Release agreement from jail

- Papers from the Oregon Department of Revenue

- 2 travel size mouth wash bottles (one empty, one full)

- Letter

- Toothpaste

- Toothbrush

- Women’s earrings

- 10 cents

- A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

- 2 bobby pins

- Eyelash curler

- Airline ticket stub, Phoenix to Portland, issued under a female’s name

- Eyeglass case

- Sleeping bag

- PBR 40

- Lotion

- Gloves

- Comb

 

DP: Where do you live?

A?: Everywhere.

 

DP: Are you Homeless?

A?:  No, not homeless, just houseless.

 

DP: Well where did you come from to get here today?

A?: Ummm I think I was somewhere in Hillsboro last night, we took the max in today and skated over here.” (Colonel Summers Park, SE Portland)

 

DP: What are you doing here today?

A?: We came here to meet up with some friends and skate… They’re not hear but we saw that girl, Gina, earlier so I guess it was worth coming down. (motions towards nearby woman)

 

DP: Hahaha ok, is that what the extra wheels are for? Are you getting a new deck?

A?: Nope, just have extras in case.

 

DP: You said you’re from Nebraska originally, is that where you came from last?

A?: No, I was up in Alaska, throwing fish on a fish boat and cooking in a restaurant on the docks.

 

DP: Do you have a job here?

A?: Nope, I’ve been trying but I can’t get work.

 

DP: What kind of work are you looking for?

A?:  I’d like to work constructing but no one is hiring. I want to try and save up money to go to PCC and become a certified EMT. I Figure people will always be getting hurt and dying so it would be a pretty solid line of work.

 

DP: So, as well as seeing an eyelash curler and girl’s earrings in your bag, we also found a plane ticket stub for a flight with [a female] passenger name. Did you two travel together?

A?: Hahaha uhhh no, I think this is her bag. We used to be together but some crazy shit went down with me and this stripper and she flipped. So, I think I just grabbed her bag when I left.

 

DP: Did you have another bag that you left?

A?: Yeah, it was a larger bag that I could put more things in but it got stolen.  

 

DP: What about the court papers, did you get in trouble recently?

A?: Yeah, I got arrested for busting up windows when I was black out drunk.

 

DP: Did, someone catch you doing it?

A?: Yeah, I busted the window of a tent repair store on SE Clinton St.  Some neighbors followed me and waited with me ‘til the cops came. I was really drunk so I just sat there and waited.

 

DP: Since you’re houseless, how important to you is your bag?

A?: My bag is my mobile home but it’s funny because some people have a stigma that you’re just homeless and there’s nothing else. That you’re just drunk, dirty and you suck.

 

DP: Lastly if you could have one thing from your bag with you at all times, what would it be?

A?: Definitely my Leopard print undies… The girls like them, they laugh and it’s alright. Then they say, “get in this”.

 

 

 

 

 

Beth Myrick

This past weekend we met up with our friend Beth Myrick for a surprise Trunk session. We opted to test our methods and interview approach out on a friend to get an idea of how things will go. Beth made a great candidate for our first interview because she is a devote trunk user and the range of items within were extensive and surprising.  We uncovered some interesting things that revealed aspects of Beth’s life that she and I had never spoken much about.

The only flaw in using a friend for the first interview was that I neglected to ask some general information questions that will be necessary with someone who I do not already know.  I will probably do a follow up interview with her so that most of the questions and answers are standardized for all interviews. Anyway, here are the results so take a look at what turned up and let me know what you think.

Beth Myrick     beth_myrick@yahoo.com

TRUNK: Medium Ortlieb waterproof messengerbag

Large Image

Contents:

- Re-used aquafina water bottle (3^rd use)

- Empty plastic bag

- Old spice deodorant

- 1 pair of socks

- Scarf

- White handkerchief

- Vitamins

- 3 tampons

- 3 Band-Aids

- 4 assorted condoms

- Empty ID holder

- 2 combs

- Size 15 and a 9/16 wrench

- “Hella graffiti markers” (3 to be exact)

- 3 books

   -“My Horizontal Life”

   -“Why Do Men Fall Asleep After Sex”

   -“Why Do Men Have Nipples”

- 2 old paycheck stubs

- 6 empty ring packs

- 2 hand written zeens (3 copies of each)

- 1 mini bag to put shit in

- 2 hand sanitizers

- Toothbrush

- Package of hair bands

- Bic pen

- An Einstein notebook

- Mechanical pencil

- A pocket notebook

- Portland State Vikings business card for “Brian Parrott”

- OMSI store business card

- Assortment of labels

- Next weeks work schedule

- 2 spare bike tubes

- Pair of glasses (farsighted)

- Sunglasses

- Bell Multi tool

- 2 tire levers

- Spare key to bike lock

- Sales receipt for OMSI store

   -Ant Farm

   -Sun print kit

- Sales receipt from Tiny’s Coffee for $ 3.75

- 3 spare sets of gauged plugs, size ¾ “

- Ipod mini 2gig

- note of feedback from an art show

- Front bike light

- 3 Olympia tall boys

- Empty OMSI store bag

- Pair of pants

- Wallet

- .98 cents in change

- Slap bracelet cozy for beer

- Cell phone

- Work keys

 

DP: “Beth, first off: WOW, so much shit in your bag, what’s up?”

BM: “(Laughter)… It’s giant I can’t help it.”

 

DP: “OK well if you could only have one thing what would it be?”

BM: “Hmmm Ipod definitely.”

 

DP: “What would you be listening to?”

BM: “Uh, somethin’ by Biggie.”

 

DP: “What’s this feed back from an art show note? When and what was the show?”

BM: “The show was at ‘Last Thursday’ on Alberta Street, I painted records.”

 

DP: “Three hella graffiti markers, you been tagging?”

BM: “Nooooo, hahahahaha.”

 

DP: “Is this your first bag?”

BM: “No, like fifth I think.”

 

DP: “Out of all the bags you have had what one has been the best?”

BM: “This one, its got great back pads for all the shit I have in it.”

 

DP: “What is the biggest thing you have ever carried?”

BM: “ My friend Sarah, we rode a block.”

 

DP: “What’s your favorite place to go with your bag?”

BM: “Probably down to the water front or out to the bluffs.”

 

DP: “What’s up with all the sexually charged reading material?”

BM: “I’m into science and the titles of the books are kind of miss leading, there’s a lot of                interesting facts in them. I guess you could also write down something about me teaching sex-Ed for five and a half years.”

 

DP: “So, the hand written zines, are they yours?”

BM: “Yeah, I wrote them for the Cascade Aids Project, that’s where I taught sex-Ed. “Dry Humping Saves Lives”, is all about general sex-Ed, HIV awareness, gender communication, masturbation, and sexual assault.”

Conception/ unintentional mission statement

This week has been filled with some really amazing conversations about how to get TRUNK PDX off the ground. TRUNK is a concept that has been evolving in my mind for some time now. Our lives are fast paced and as we rush through our days we often lose sight of ourselves and of others. This project focuses on people who opt for a form of transportation other then cars, and lose the ability to bring whatever, wherever in their trunk, glove box, or backseat. Instead, they have co-opted the backpack and made it their portable trunk. The contents of a trunk say a lot about a person and their daily life. 

       Our goal is to photograph people, their bags, and the contents within as a way of exploring how they acclimate to their ever moving, ever changing lives. Entering into these places of privacy help us better understand our friends, perfect strangers, and a trend that has emerged from necessity. So, check out the blog from time to time and see what turns up as we invade the more private side of local commuters.