internship camp

(Since my internship location is big on privacy, I probably won't be taking any pictures there so it will be my opportunity to post random pics)

I started my internship today, nervous as hell.  It was similar to my start at my current job's ATE program.  I was intimidated by the participants and regarded them as potentially explosive people.  However, I came to really enjoy working with the ATE participants and I could see the same thing happening in my internship.  Once a person moves beyond seeing others as categories and starts viewing them as individuals, that person can relate and interact with them better.

The participants or residents at my internship are great.  I only observed one act of defiance.  Other than that, I saw nothing but good attitudes towards the program and cooperation amongst the residents and the staff.  I think I'm gonna learn a lot...eventually.  Today, I did a lot of observing, got my food handler's card, did a load of dishes and played with the laziest (and possibly anemic) kitten.  Then I got to go home early.  I don't need this job to be a big challenge but I want to get more out of it.  However, I also realize that I have a lot to learn and I think that I'll have to be patient until I learn more.

What else?

Even though I went to serve lunch to the participants at the drop-in shelter, I still ate on my own.  I went to Food Fight at PSU again and had the vegan pizza and salad which was just awesome!

a great show to lose money on

Tonight wasn't the first show that I've ever helped with that's lost money and it's not the first show that's lost money that I would still consider a success either.  However, I will have to say that I was definitely more upset this time around that not more people were here to see it because it was a GREAT show.  Of course I love Riot Cop but I have deep appreciation for the raw energy, enthusiasm and radical nature of HolyHolyHoly.  I also got to see Broken in Half for the first time.  The video above is them performing last night.  I was going to take a video of HolyHolyHoly too but the singer got naked too quickly and I didn't want to be the creeper who posted that on-line.  If you wanna see that, you got to go to the show.

While I am upset that more people did not the chance to go, I did love the people that were there.  There were some underage folks that probably didn't have a lot of options for real entertainment downtown that thought it was just the craziest thing ever.  I honestly don't know how some of these folks ended up at the show because it didn't appear to be their scene but I think every last one of them enjoyed it and I bet they'll be back.  That's what makes it a success.

special delivery

Whenever we would travel to Lincoln on school trips in high school for clubs, I would take the time to break away from the rest of the group and try to pass myself off as someone with a job in town, not a visitor.  I believed that the ideal job would be delivery person or messenger because then I would get to have missions and assignments that would allow me access to all sorts of offices and I'd get to meet a lot of different people (plus as a bonus, I would still get to work on my own). 

I have a few friends who left Portland for a time to go become bike messengers in New York.  I think one of them was there for a week until she broke her arm after getting doored by a taxi.  While I don't think that I could ride a bike successfully while in a hurry in New York, I can see why they left to go try it.

Today, I played the part and biked to the Fed Ex offices on Swan Island for a phone that was supposed to get delivered to my house but they came during the day when nobody was home.  Swan Island (I'm not even sure if it is a legit island) is in North Portland and is NOT bike friendly.  It was a fun experience getting there but biking around the actual roads of Swan Island is frightening because there aren't a lot of cyclist or pedestrians but there is a lot of fast moving trucks with deadlines.  I survived though and made it in time.  I don't think I'd want to do it anymore though for a living.

What else?
However, my actual job has gotten a little uncomfortable.  A new hire is having some personality clashes and flat-out inappropriate dialog with people.  I attribute it to her being from the East Coast.  I typically hate broad generalizations but there are distict personality types for those who are East Coast vs Midwest vs West Coast and probably more regional ones beyond that.  I'm Midwest turned West Coast which means I have a good work ethic but I can slow it down in order to not make everyone else look bad. :)

they're still scary

We had a clown come to work today to entertain for one of the client's birthdays.  I don't remember ever being fascinated or interested in clowns.  I think that I saw Poltergeist too early on in my childhood and I was forever warped by the toy clown with the long arms dragging Carol Anne's brother underneath the bed.

What else?
Glee's back!  Wow, I missed that show.  It premiered yesterday but I never watch TV on TV.  That what Hulu and downloading are for.

from Rainier to rainier

I don't really get to Seattle very often but this is my second visit so far this year.  Both times, I went to the Space Needle.  It's not that impressive but, like my dad said, if you only make it to Seattle once, it's something you should do.  Dad and I went up.  I got a better view than I did last time since it wasn't as cloudy.  Still, meh.  I'm glad my dad suggested taking a different path back to Portland other than I-5.  I used my phone to get us directly south which put us close to Mt Rainer.  I only got us lost once too when we went out of phone range.  D'oh, technology fail.

This is where we got a little lost.  It's probably the closest I have been to Mt Rainer.  It's a pretty area that I'd like to spend more time in.  It's really not that far from Portland so I will have to get up there sometime within the next year.

After our drive, we went to watch the swifts but the rain chased us away and the birds into the chimney quickly.  We ended up going to a movie at the Mission so we could get food too.  It's the first time I've eaten at the Mission and the first time I've been there and not in the balcony.  It was nothing too exciting but it was a nice trip and a nice visit with my parents.  They're heading to Paris later on this week so I wasn't going to try to make the Seattle experience compete with that.  It was a nice simple Northwestern experience.

seeing the seedy side of Seattle

 I had this memorable dream months ago that I moved to Seattle.  Unfortunately, I moved to outer Seattle, like the suburbs.  I could see the city but I was working a lot so I had no time to make it into the city and no car so I was stranded, looking at the city but unable to enjoy it.

That's kind of how tonight went.  We got out to our hotel in the U district and everyone was too tired to make any effort to go into the city.  Plus it began raining and I didn't know what I'd do in town anyway.  So we called it an early evening.  While I could have went to out using public transport, it reminded me of my dream in that I felt stranded.

This is why I love Portland.  Portland is easy to maneuver around, especially if you have a bike.  The hills of Seattle and the ridiculous layout make biking a challenge here unless you really know what you're doing.  Fortunately, we got out during the day so I can say that I earned my apathy in the evening.

My dad and the family friends and their daughter went to the game.  They were only able to get four tickets so that left my mom and me to go out and see Seattle.  We walked west up an endless staircase and grabbed a bus downtown.  I had no idea that Seattle had underground tunnels for their transit system.  I also got a chance to see the other underground Seattle as well.

In 1889, there was a big fire due to a lot of stupid circumstances.  It burnt the downtown down and the residents decided to take the opportunity to build upon the old city, raise themselves above the tide of the sake of safe sewage and created an underground Seattle.  The actually underground tunnels (pictured in the second picture) weren't that impressive but the story of the underground was entertaining (despite the look of my mother in the third picture).  The tour guide is the person in on the right in the fourth picture.  After the tour, my mom and I got Lebanese at Zaina and then walked around the piers.  We took the bus back and then I convinced my mom to walk up more hills so I could check out the vegan district near the U.  Incidentally, we went to an English pub (the Rat and the Raven) and some UW guy legitimately thanked my mom for supporting UW.  She thought he was being sarcastic and pointed to her Nebraska sweatshirt but he said that they appreciated the NE fans filling up the stadium (and also bolstering the Seattle economy by an estimated 2 million.

Seattle is a pretty place but it's also pretty confusing.  It's sort of like they took a large square city grid, dropped in on the edge of Washington and whatever parts were over water just fell into the bay.  It seems that every inch of these peninsulas and coves are covered in sprawl.

Ultimately, I finished my day satisfied.  While it was odd to be calling it such an early evening on a Saturday, it was nice, simple and I didn't feel the pressure to head back downtown (since I was soaked and my calves already got a workout).

invasion

If you click on the picture above, look at the head of the silhouette and you'll see a little cornhusker sticker.  This tilework is outside of the restrooms at Pike's Place Market in Seattle.  Normally, I would be surprised to see a Nebraska sticker here but not today.  My parents said that a travel agency in 'Braska bought a lot of the tickets and sold it as a vacation package to fans.  Apparently, a lot of people went for it because I could not take more than 10 steps in Seattle without running into a gaggle of red N shirts.  It's weird.

It was nice to have the opportunity to show my parents around.  It's another day where I'm grateful for my droid though because Seattle a pretty frickin big place with lots of small confusing roads and very minimal parking.  The droid served as our navigator today as we went down to Pike's Place.  We had ice cream, apricots and beer.  Later, we met up with some family friends and all went to Piecora's Pizza.

My parents' friends' daughter went to school at U of W.  She's been living in Seattle for seven years.  I have her beat cause I've been here for eight years this month.  I think each of our parents are grateful we're here so they have a reason to go to the west coast and guides for when they get here.

the welcome wagon

I 

I love my parents.  That's why I booked them a room at the Bluebird Guesthouse bed & breakfast (cause I got Hospitality!) While I technically have sleep space in my house, I feel that it didn't suit them that well last time they were here and the Bluebird is in a great neighborhood.  I think that it will be well-worth the cost.

I went out to the airport after checking into their room to guide them back into town.  They rented a car, even though I have one around...somewhere.  Anyway, this one will be more reliable and economical for driving up to Seattle.  The car line was terribly slow though.  I hope it's worth it.

Anyway, we ended up at the Hedgehouse across the street from the Bluebird for dinner.  It was great.  I hope they're going to have a good time here.

blue lake ride

I took the Jamis out to Blue Lake Park today.  This was a case where the destination was not important but the journey was.  I wanted to get out and ride today so I picked Blue Lake Park quickly.  I found a site online that said it was a 20 mile bike trip.  It was actually closer to 23 with all of the extra paths I explored.  It also was an expedition just trying to get to the start of the bike path.  Overall, I ended up riding 43 miles by the time I got up north.

At the park, I met a fellow cyclist who had just recovered for five weeks after a shoulder injury and was on her first expedition out.  Her doctor had told her to stay off the bike for six weeks but she finally got him to agree to five because she was getting anxious and needed to ride.  She told me about group rides set up through a meet up website.  I need to look into it as I want to do more of this.  She mentioned a ride around Mt Hood which would be awesome.  I'll need to work up to that level.

in the dump(s)

Talk about symbolism.  Today I was metaphorically and literally (for the first time) in the dumps.  I don't know what my deal is.  I'm attributing it to lack of sleep and the comedown off the rush of Shonen Knife.

少年ナイフ!

I owe Jessica a lot for introducing me to Shonen Knife.  I went to see her at Mississippi Studios tonight as she has a pass for Musicfest NW and was going to the show.  I had no idea who was playing but I decided at the last minute that I didn't need to spend a Friday night at home.  I also wanted to take my bike for a significant ride and Mississippi counts as such.

Now, if I would've done my homework this morning when she sent me the list of bands that were playing tonight, I would have gone without hesitating.  Still, I made it there and I had a blast.  Shonen Knife was fun, rocking, had matching outfits and sang songs about tasty snacks and cute animals!  They played to the crowd a lot.  Basically, they were everything I want in a show except for shirtless male dancers. :)

It was my first time at Mississippi Studios and I love the layout.  It's very Bronze (not the metal but the fictitious hangout from Buffy).  It wasn't packed but there was just enough people there to show Shonen Knife the appreciation they deserve but not too much so that it made it uncomfortable.  Due to the exhilaration of this show, I will probably give other Musicfest shows a chance.

my jamis

Seven years and four months ago, I bought my Specialized Crossroads at a pawn shop in Vancouver for $100.  Considering the time I have gotten out of it, I think that it has paid for itself many times over.  Last night, as I was going to the Joan Rivers doc, I was turning in dismount position and my pedal hit the sidewalk.  It lurched my bike just enough to cause two spokes to come out.  I know I've had spokes problems before but I don't know if I've ever caused them to pop out.

Anyway, this morning sucked because I could not get the tire to turn.  I had to get a ride to work and take the tire to Seven Corners on my lunch break.  It wasn't even raining this morning and I couldn't ride.  It was then that I accepted that I was just going to have to get a second bike.  I had another bike a while ago.  It came free to me when the Cascadia Infoshop closed.  However, I gave it away a while ago to someone.  I didn't like it that much anyway.

Since I've been riding so much more often, I decided I was due for a new bike.  I've scouted the Jamis Comp Coda commuters for about a month now.  Jesse got one and said he liked it so I tested it out today.  It's a smaller bike than my specialized but it's a smooth ride.  Corey was very honest with me and said that, although my bike has served me well, it is not setting the bar very high.  Any new bike will be a lot better by comparison.  Still, I really liked the bike and I *heart* Seven Corners.  I would never consider going anywhere else to get a new bike.  So I made an impulsive decision and bought it.  Corey threw some cup holders on it and a kickstand and I was set.

I still plan on riding my Specialized.  Actually, I want to build the rack out more so it could support a sound system.  Now that it's not my everyday bike, I think it will serve it's purpose as a sound system/star wars speeder bike.

when the rain tells me it's okay

There's something primordial and basic about listening to the weather.  Since I gave up my car and don't use my housemates' car often, I've been more influenced by the weather.  When I gave up my scooter, destinations became judged by their friendly access, their distance and the lack of hills.  I wasn't in my peak, biking-all-the-time mentality and a sizable hill was daunting.  Now, I can handle the hills, the traffic and the distance.  However, the weather has become more of a barrier.  If it's too rainy, I stay in.  If it's nice outside, I seize the opportunity and get outside.

It was pouring rain earlier this afternoon but then it stopped.  I quickly went to my boss and asked if I could cash in on some hours owed to me and leave early.  While I wanted to make sure I could bike home early, it was just as important to me to get home in time to be able to walk Dean.  It rained a LOT yesterday and I stayed inside and faced the puppy eyes begging for the rain to stop.

I also had plans with a friend at 7.  However, the rain started again and stopped at 6.  I didn't care that it was going to be way early.  I just didn't want to get rained on so I left and waited for her for a while.  While I would prefer a non-rainy fall, I will take this stop-and-go action over the perpetuation of rain that we call winter/spring.  Hopefully the weather looks more kindly on me next season and only rains late in the night when I'm tucked away.

What else?
I know I'm gay but I didn't think I was a Joan Rivers' gay until tonight.  I first found Joan when she hosted a talk show on the USA network (or it was rebroadcast) during the early nineties.  I found her honest and funny then but I was unaware of her career or her lifestyle.  I schooled myself tonight as Jess and I went to see Joan Rivers, A Piece of Work.  She's a constant laughing stock and it's sad because she is talented, she is a hard worker and she is a product of our culture in that things have to be shocking to be acknowledged.

Despite my admiration for her, I was still surprised by how excited I was to go see this documentary.  Work hasn't been fun and I didn't do shit last night so that could have helped.  I was actually looking more forward to seeing the rest of the audience, anticipating that Jess and I would be surrounded by older queens.  However, I found myself in good company and thoroughly entertained.

Also, my new thing was meeting a new participant at work that I gave a tour to and also doing the complete Richard Simmons workout with a co-worker.  Usually it's just me and the clients.

damn fabulous day

What a great day.  I love three day weekends because they allow you a lot more time to do a lot less.  I got inspired today to actually do stuff though.  Following a new breakfast at Cricket, I cleaned the house like a person possessed.

Then I met Dom at McMenamins on Broadway for the first time, went to Scott Pilgrim vs the World (which was superb!!!) and finished the evening at B-sides.  It was a definitely a dive bar and I'm not sure I'll go back there without Dom.  Riding home, I went down the Eastside Esplanade and stopped under the Hawthorne for a bit to listen to the drummers.

I can definitely feel Fall in the air.  However, nights like this will help get me ready for school to start again.

ramona's bowling b-day

I made my standard cake this morning for Ramona's ninth birthday at her request.  Her birthday party was held at the bowling alley which has changed.  We put up fake names (star wars themed) and the monitor displayed a fairy tale theme which was cute and made me think how far we've come from manual calculations and small pencils.  It made the 'sport' a little more lame.

What else?
I went to Mulligan's for the first time.  It's a Saturday night but I didn't really feel like whooping it up.  Instead, Sophia, Jesse and I went for a casual night and super cheap drinks at one of the few non-hipster places to drink on Hawthorne.  The place can hardly be viewed as a destination for a lot of people.  It doesn't offer a lot of entertainment or atmosphere but I think I'll be back when I want to just hang.

90210

OMZ, it's 90210 today!  Despite my decades of watching soaps, I really do hate drama.  Still, I can appreciate the irony of engaging in drama today of all days.


My work actually has a policy against gossip.  People have gotten disciplined over this policy before so I don't really want to put what happened today in writing but I will say that a co-worker exposed their angry side today and tried to pull me and my roommate into crazy land with the co-worker.  The co-worker has done a piss poor job lately and I'm completely over dealing with them anymore.  It was frustrating but I don't want to gossip cuz I don't need any drama.

What else?
It's first Thursday again.  I saw some new bands.  It wasn't as busy or fun as last month but it was still a success.