very wet at vampire weekend

I don't do big music shows very often.  I can't afford Madonna tickets and the Smashing Pumpkins aren't together anymore so I don't really care that badly.  However, I've grown fond of Vampire Weekend and a few of my friends were going so I went along.

It was a fun adventure.  Sophia and I took the MAX and bus all the way out to Troutdale to McMenamins' Edgefield.  The Dum Dum Girls and Beachouse opened up for Vampire Weekend.  I really enjoyed the show but I think I would have enjoyed it more if it didn't rain the whole time.

It hasn't rained long and hard in months but the day I decide to go to a show, it rains a lot.  It rained so hard that my rain jacket stopped working.  I was ready for the show to end before the encore just cause I was soaked and cold.  It was an adventure though.

What else?
I didn't drink at the show but I had a margarita and a bag of chips at Chipoltes.  It was my first Chipolte's experience, despite my brother's consistent recommendation of the place.

my photogenic dog

I laid in Creston Park today for hours with Dean, Izzy B, Justin and Sophia.  All we needed was some beers and it would have been perfect.

What else?
Jess and I went to Bamboo Sushi today and the movie Micmacs.  The sushi was a fun experience but I don't know if I'd do it again.  Sophia's sushi is better.  However, I did thoroughly confuse Jessica's mom in Nebraska when I accidentally called her and started rambling about this and that.  She said, "Excuse me?" and asked me, "Who do you think this is?" and I thought it was just Jess giving me attitude so I kept going until she finally stopped me.  Silly.

nothing to do day

I had nothing planned to do today and I enjoyed doing just that.

I went down to the Saturday Market, bought new sunglasses and a new cuff.  While I was down there, I saw the above-pictured living statues.

Later on, Sophia and I went to Blowpony where I saw Nicky Click for the first time and CJ and the Dolls again.  It was a very nice, easy day which is great to have but it doesn't make for a very exciting post.

anti-rape culture

Ugh, this sucks to have to write about but it comes up way too often and it's pretty unavoidable.  The term rape culture is used to describe a culture in which sexual violence (typically against females) is common, accepted, expected or overlooked.  It's absolutely horrifying and unbelievable but it's out there and unfortunately it's not rare.  Gawd, I hate humanity sometimes.

It'd be nice to think that with every new day, we come one step closer to doing away with rape culture.  Like all forms of hate and intolerance (except again haters), I hope that it will all just evolve out of our system.  Yet, some forms of hate are so ingrained in society that they're like bed bugs.  Just when you think you got rid of them, they flare up again and you're better off just leaving everything behind and moving.  However, with rape culture, we tend to just ignore it and hope it goes away.

People grow up with violence in their house and just accept it as the norm, carry into another house and keep the cycle going.  The media doesn't exactly discourage it.  It shows misogynistic assholes and glorifies them.  The government and legal system has proved to be incompetent at dealing with them and at reform instead of just wrist slapping (castration, anyone?).  Hell, the military refuses to give rape victims any protection or hope for retribution. 

While I would love to think of my small Portland culture as being above the rest of the world in this matter, we're not.  There are better, more community-driven ways of confronting rapists within the community.  It should also be added by 'community,' I mean punks, anarchists, radicals, etc.  We're supposed to be anti-patriarchy, supportive of each other and accountable for our issues.  However, not all people within this community are on the same page.  While most people that I would expect to identify themselves as members of the community would hopefully agree that full-on, attack, forcible rape is horrendous, some people have different definitions when alcohol is involved.

This is yet another reason why I hate alcohol.  It can impair your judgment or just black you out completely.  If one person's drunk and has their judgment impaired and a sober person takes advantage of them, it is rape.  It's not consensual.  If it isn't rape, then there's no such thing as a rape drug which I think most people would agree there is.  It works under the same philosophy.  Yet, when both people are drunk, is anyone really to blame.  The lines become a lot more blurry then although there may still be coercion involved.

Yesterday, I worked the door for an event at the space and heard new artists.  I also had to help watch the door when we were fully expecting a rapist to walk through the door.  At many venues, this would be ignored.  However, we do not endorse, support or ignore rapists.  My housemates called him out, confronted him and made him wait by the front while calling his accountability coordinator.  It was an uncomfortable situation for all involved but I don't see how anyone can argue that it was the right thing.  The guy was a jerk about it and that probably has a lot to do with the fact that he was caught off-guard.  I don't think that enough people have stood up to him and called him on being accused of rape which they should.  I think that if rapists were called out more often and more publicly, it would be a hindrance to rape culture.  However, people need to work to support the survivors more.  Calling someone out is an intense experience and it would be unimaginably difficult for a survivor to confront someone in a public venue when he is surrounded by his friends.  So they need support, like my awesome housemates.  I love knowing that I am surrounded by the right type of people.

stuffed

One of the most memorable sections in Stephen King's The Stand was an early chapter, where the older lady (who lived in Nebraska) was surviving post-apocalypse on her farm on her own and began talking about true hunger and not just eating on a schedule but actually feeling hungry.  This struck a chord with me years and years ago when I read it because it's easy to recognize the domesticated scheduling of meal times and how that has contributed to our gluttony and greed.  We don't always eat just because we're hungry.  Sometimes we eat because that's just what we do at this time.

Meals are regular for me and I hardly skip one, except for on the weekends.  If I want to sleep in, lunch becomes breakfast and dinner comes early.  Today, we went to the Cricket Cafe for breakfast which came late.  Not only did it take us a while to get our table but AN HOUR after we got there and had put in our order, the waiter comes over to apologize, saying he spaced on putting our order in and was willing to comp our drinks.  This worked out okay for me because I had ordered an Angry Claus Coffee which was about $7.  However, it meant we had a super-long meal.

As soon as we finished there, we headed to Fred Meyers to buy food to prepare for dinner which came a short 3.5 hours later.  I am so full right now, it is ridiculous.  I don't think that eating only when you're starving is healthy because your body will begin breaking down muscle tissue and you'll probably end up eating more to satisfy your hungry.  However, I also don't think that eating just for the sake of eating is a great idea either.  There has to be a good balance.  That being said, dinner (pictured above) was amazing.  It's too bad I could only eat half of it though.

weak work week

It was a short work week time wise but it was a long work week otherwise.

My co-worker whom went into treatment not that long ago is still gone.  Also, Marty is gone on vacation.  That means I'm really really bored but I'm also getting things done.  Not having my favorite client or my favorite co-worker here has changed my perspective on my job.  I still find myself looking for my co-worker when something stupid or juicy happens in the office but she's not there.  It's the little things that I took for granted with her like telling her about my evening or the ease of working in the same room as her when we're supervising clients that I really miss.  It sucks.  However, I am really happy she is getting help.

Today, I had to MC the annual BBQ that she had scheduled but is now unable to set up.  Since I've helped her with it every year for the past four years, I'm in charge of it now.  It could have run more smoothly but I think that it ended up a success.  I think she'll be proud when I tell her next.

plane as day

I hate spending the day in airports.  It's better though going from Omaha to Portland because I'm gaining two hours instead of losing two.  Even so, coming to Nebraska this time was better because the flight from Omaha to Denver was super bumpy and made me scared as hell.  While the ride was rough, the travel experience was smooth in that I carried on luggage the whole way home.  Airports are stupid now in that they charge people to check their baggage.  I don't think it's resulted in less baggage but just more people carrying on stuff.  In each flight over the past few days, they've offered free bag checks at the gate to reduce the number of bags in the passenger area.  People should never pay to check bags they can carry on, even if they want to have the convenience of not carrying their bag around.  Stupid airlines.

What else?
I bid adieu to Omaha.  Zach introduced me to La Casa Pizzeria for lunch and Lisa drove me to the airport.  It was nice to get in touch with them all again.  I'll make sure to let them know before I plan my next Nebraska trip because I always fly into Omaha.  For once, I'm glad I do.

I have a couple of other groups of friends in Omaha that I didn't get to see this time around.  I guess that's just more motivation to return soon.

memories from wallace high

I love these ladies!  Terri, (on the top), Lisa (on the right) and I haven't seen a lot of each other for the past six years but I still consider them two of my best friends.  Hanging out with them over the past day and a half has proved that I am a good judge of character. 

Lisa's parents and my parents worked together for years.  Our mom's even co-owned a home-based business together.  She was the first person I met in my class in Wallace school.  Terri and I went through art together in high school, bonding over our mutual artistic inclinations and our hatred of World History.  The three of us went to Speech Camp together the summer before our junior year so we were all dorks together, participating in drama club together along with speech club.

If I had to leave Portland, Zach, Terri and Lisa have made Omaha my number two choice for a place to live in the US.  I have family, friends and a couple of leads for good places to eat there.  Plus I know from previous experience that there is at least one gay bar here I'd visit.  It would be nice though if there were more cyclists.  Still, my friends helped me see Omaha as a tolerable place, which is something I would have previously thought possible.

Earlier, Zach and I hung out during the day and watched a lot of Chelsea Lately.  I now love this show.  Chelsea is hilarious.  Yes, she's kind of offensive but it's clear where her love lies.  She's very body-positive and queer-celebratory.  Plus she's a dog owner.  We're good people.

The food on this trip has been the most vegetarian friendly food I've had in Nebraska.  My family made some awesome dishes for me on Friday and Saturday.  Eating out today was great.  Jason's Deli was our lunch spot, where Terri and I again ordered the same dish; a portobella sandwich.  We ate at McFoster's Natural Kind Cafe.  The only reason this place would not succeed in Portland is there's too many places around like it, which is what I love about Portland.  However, Omaha should celebrate that it has such a great place.  I don't think I've seen tempeh served anywhere else in town.  Plus they grow their own veggies.  If I lived in Omaha, I would hang out here all of the time.

Another nice feature of the Cafe was that it was near the Crescent Moon Ale House which is where we went for drinks.  They have an amazing beer selection and multiple bars which have different selections, the German bar and the Belgium bar.  I got stuck on a nice light Belgium beer.  Again, it was just nice to hang out with my friends but great food and drinks make the experience even better.

from a different perspective

I got a new outlook on Omaha today, both literally and figuratively.  I went for a ride in the "Skyfari" today in the zoo which is basically a much-appreciated ski lift that goes over a bit of the zoo.  I haven't seen the rhinos in years because they're up a hill but I got a overhead view of them today.

The zoo was fun but the movie Happy Feet has forever ruined zoos for me.  Watching the otters get fed was fun.  I also went the Madagascar exhibit for the first time.  It was disappointing and I would have rather have done the jungle or the desert.  But it was good fun family time.

However, I also got a new outlook on Omaha courtesy of my friends Terri, Lisa and Zach.  Terri, Lisa and I were good friends from junior high and high school.  I haven't seen them in a long six years.  It's crazy.  I haven't seen them since I've been in my thirties.  Lisa's lived in Omaha for a while but Terri and her husband Zach moved there a year ago.  It worked out great for me though this time because I could see them both and my family and I don't have to leave the city.

Having been in Omaha for a while, Lisa's developed a community here and has been able to integrate Terri and Zach into it well, making for fun feel to the city.  Lisa's also scoped restaurants and found a great vegetarian/vegan friendly restaurant called Ingredient where you could either build your own salad/sandwich/pizza or choose some of their pre-planned options, some of which were vegan.

It was great.  I am always amazed when I find vegetarian options in Omaha but this was a place that had options and none of my friends had been there before and they had FALAFEL!  Terri and I each had the Tofu Philly which was good although it didn't taste like a Philly whatsoever.

Afterwards, we went to the Holiday Lounge where we lounged and discussed awesome TV shows.  When we could all agree that Veronica Mars was an awesome show (at least the first 2 seasons), I knew that I was in good company.

chillin in papillion

When my grandma passed away last year, I figured I would only see my extended family on that side during funerals and weddings.  So, when I found out that my uncle was hosting a family reunion, I wanted to make sure I was there.  I love my aunts, uncles and cousins and want to make sure that we stay in touch.

For the most part, most of my extended family on this side lives in Omaha, or to be more accurate, in suburbs of Omaha.  Papillion is one such suburb with a population of 17,000.  We hung out here before going over to my uncle's.  I took a walk around by myself in the morning to check out the surroundings and get some fresh, muggy air.  Later on, my mom and I walked down to the Schwer Recreation Area which is a fun little water park for kids.  I would've absolutely loved this if I was a youngster.  Hell, I would've loved it if there would have just been other adults playing around the area.

Anyway, at the family reunion, we got to go to Uncle Randy's where the kids played in his new above ground pool.  His yard has been so drastically improved in such a short amount of time.  It probably came from my grandma's inheritance.  It's great for him and his family to have.  Still, it was funny watching kids and a few of my older cousins splash around in the pool while we listened to butt rock and hair metal.  Ahhh, the suburbs.

board now

Ha ha.  I love technology and the impersonality of checking into the airport nowadays.  I got through free and clear with just my phone.  It's crazy.  Retina scans will be next!

I am simply astounded by how easy this is.  I keep expecting something to go wrong but they waved me through like I was the queen of England or something.  Go Droid!

What else?
I forgot my camera card so I'll be taking a lot of phone pics.  The above pic was with my computer cam.

my life as an intern

Before I write about my day, I just want to say that the amazing above picture was not taken by me nor do I own it.  I googled 'homeless youth' and this was one of the first images to come up.  Ironically, it's from Portland.  Photographer Jan Sonnenmair took it for the Do 1 Thing project.  More info about this project can be found at do1thing.org.

I officially don't start my internship until late September but they wanted me to go to orientation today so I could be ready to go in September.  I am so impressed with how this place balances professionalism with casualness.  They are dead serious about protecting the privacy and information of the homeless youth that visit the program but they don't dress in ties.  They would be unapproachable that way.

I was cautioned by other students before starting here because some people heard that they don't work with interns well.  However, I am nothing but in awe of the work that they do and eager to start.  One of the other people in orientation asked if this is a career choice for me.  Really, I asked to work with homeless youth to get experience with a different population and I have a little bit of experience being around this population.  However, I really never considered it a career choice.  Maybe I will have changed my mind by the time I'm done interning.

best birthday dinner ever

This makes me want to do something nice for my birthday.

The first time I realized that Sophia and I could hit it off really well was when I gave her a ride to the airport years ago and we were discussing our birthdays.  We both had the same idea around not wanting to make a big production out of our birthdays.  It's easier to enjoy the day without having the expectations around that you're supposed to be happier or more jovial than you really are.

Ironically enough, Sophia is the one to cause me to change my mind around this 'no-celebration' policy because she did it tastefully tonight.  We started with a small gathering and drinks at BeerMongers (for the 1st time) and then went for a lavish dinner at Portobello (for the 1st time).  It could not have been cheap but it was a very beautiful, meaningful dinner with friends.  It was an amazing meal and not just for the food.  The intention, company and setting was perfect.  However, the food was absolutely divine and there was so much of it.  Truly unforgettable and at just the right amount of celebration.

time to relax

Due to the whiplash I experienced as the result of my dog, I have had neck pain all week.  On Friday, I scheduled myself for a massage.  I haven't had a professional massage in years.  I have to do this more often.  I will skip meals if I have to in order to save up money for it.

Not only did I have a new massage therapist (Chris) but I also sat in a hot tub for a half an hour before time.  I could have done another half an hour after my hour massage but I think that would have melted me.  I was good to go after the massage.  I spent the rest of the day listening to my groovy Pandora radio station while biking aimlessly around town.  What a beautiful Sunday.

bike mentor

I love Doctor Who.   First off, it's British.  10 points for that.  Then, it's written by Russell T Davies, the creator of Queer As Folk. 30 points there.  Thirdly, it's a fun, enjoyable show which requires just the right amount of thinking but still can pack an emotional punch.  It's techinically science fiction but it does so much better with the fiction than it does with the science.  Still, it's a lot of fun.  40 points.  However, the thing I love most about the show is that it has given Raven and I something to bond over.  Not that long ago, I decided to test out the show and watched it with Raven.  (We're watching the new Who, not the old ones.)  Since then, Raven and I have watched each episode, most of them together.

We watched the last one yesterday.  Now we're caught up and have to wait until Christmas.  I'm kind of sad about that, not because I'll miss the show but because Raven got so excited over it. 

This morning, I was planning on heading to see the Brunch on the Bridge celebration on the Hawthorne Bridge.  For this bridge celebration, they laid sod on the bridge for a few hours this morning.  Raven was looking bored and we didn't have anymore Who to watch so I invited him to bike down to the bridge with me.  We haven't gone on this big of a bike trip before together.  I think this could be one of the biggest bike trips Raven has taken.  We took a path that I commute on daily so I was able to show Raven all of the neat little bike nuances along the way.

The Brunch on the Bridge was A)pathetic and B)expensive.  I don't imagine it was a cheap feat to pull off but it was also kind of silly.  There was a small amount of entertainment on the grass to go along with the small patch of grass you got to sit on.  $40 per person for the ability to sit in grass on the bridge seemed unreasonable to both of us so Raven and I walked around a bit and then biked back home.  I was really excited about seeing the Grass originally but, if it was going to suck, I'm at least glad I took Raven down there with me because that definitely made the experience.  Hopefully, we can make biking a regular habit.

What else?
Jess and I had some Hot Monkey vodka drinks at C-Bar.  The bartender was cool and made up the drinks for us based upon Jess's interest in the Hot Monkey.  It was damn hot but pretty good.

2nd 1st Thursday

Autonomy had their second first Thursday today.  Based upon the success of the last (or first) first Thursday, we were expecting tonight to be busy.  Ashes and I flyered for the event by following the drum corps band, LRSD.

At the event, Holy Holy Holy and Chernova played some awesome rowdy Balkan music.  It was a beautiful sight to see the place so festive.  It was also busy as hell.  We (Ashes and I) had originally intended to leave early, around 10pm, because we both have to work tomorrow.  However, it got so crazy that we had to stay until 1:30am.  For me to be out that late on a work night is unheard of but it felt so right.  I'm sure I'll be dragging ass tomorrow but it was worth it.  Awesome awesome night.

work-life

No pic for today as it's not a happy post.  I found out one of my co-workers has been drinking on the job.  The painful part is I'm closest to her at work so I should have known.  I knew she had a history of drinking but she was tell me she was sober.  I hate booze.  It doesn't mean I'm gonna quit drinking.  It just means that I realize how screwed up it is and it can screw you over.  Moderation, folks.

What else?
I got hit again by the same guy.  He was getting upset, telling all of the staff members to f*** off, including me.  However, then he told me that he wanted me to go for a walk with him.  On his walk, he told some imaginary person across the street to f*** off.  When I looked, he hit me with his hat.  I walked him back to the office.  When I came back to check on him, he threw his nametag at me.  He had thrown several chairs just before that so, again, I should be grateful that all I got was the nametag.  I asked him if he was supposed to be throwing stuff around and he picked up his backpack, yelled "No, b***h!" and chucked it at me.  Fortunately, he didn't aim well.  Poor guy is really going through a rough patch.  Seems like he's not the only one.

The abuse didn't stop at work though.  I took Dean to the park and we saw several black labs off their leashes so I told Dean to go and say hi.  He was a little bit nervous around them and kept leaping away from them but then going back in for a butt sniff.  When he was behind me, he leaped away from them and swept my legs right out from under me.  I went crashing hard into the ground.  Now I think I have whiplash.  Screw this day.

bye and bye b-day

Today it was Tim's bday. (I have a lot of Leo friends) so Sophia, Tim, Martin and I and a few other people all went to the Bye and Bye in NE for happy hour.  I've only been here one other time.  It was a Saturday night and the place was packed with hipsters.  It was really hard to endure.  Today, there wasn't a lot of people there and most of them were with us and gay so it was a lot better.  I had a lot of drinks, ate some good vegan food and talked a lot.  It was simply fabulous.  All my friends' birthday celebrations make me want to actually plan something ahead of time next year for my day.

What else?
We biked back from NE and stumbled upon a stairwell that overlooks the city.  It was nice.  We also headed back to Tim and Sophia's and had Martin's awesome cupcakes.  I don't go for sweets too often but these were outstanding.

I got hit at work today by one of my clients for the first time.  I knew it'd be this guy who hit me too because he's my favorite person to work with.  He was trying to get me to explain how he could go out to McDonalds on his b-day (which is in May) with one of my co-workers when his b-day will fall on a Sunday.  I was trying to explain it to him and he just kept getting more frustrated.  Another guy, who I love to make smile, started smiling as he was sitting right behind the guy getting frustrated.  I smiled back and I ended up with the frustrated guy's hat in my face.  He's been known to uppercut his supervisor, throw shoes or punch people in the gut so I should count myself lucky.  However, it still shocked me.

going for the green

Yes, I'm putting up another food post but this isn't just a new meal, it's a new diet.

When I look at food menu's, I skip right over the appetizers and also usually over the salads.  Salads rarely, if ever, constitute a meal for me.  Raised on a meat diet, that's what meals mean to me.  Sandwiches, tacos, burritos, pasta dishes, steaks or chicken breasts (and now the vegetarian meat versions) are needed to qualify a meal as a meal.  Salads are sides.

However, after yesterday's super-awesome Super Grain Salad at Vita, I decided to try something new.  I biked up to the Red and Black today for lunch and tried their Red Dragon Salad.  It was good but not as great as the Super Grain.  Still, it filled me up.

My housemates and I are home at odd and inconsistent intervals now which makes for bad eating if we eat at home.  It's the easy, box type dinners that have been sustaining us.  Since I'm not eating a great or healthy dinner, I am going to try to eat better lunches.

What else?
Al had an art show today at the Globe which used to be Jace Gace.  It was my first time there but before I headed there, I parked my bike at Colonel Summers Park where they were having Monday Funday.  Everybody just hangs in the park and usually get together to do some activity.  I watched a bunch of strangers play dodgeball for a bit and then headed to the art show.  It made me think twice about my job because, if I didn't have to work in the morning, I'd love to just hang out in the park in the evening, doing stupid things with my friends.

The art show was nice though.  It was cool to see Al's work displayed and it was also great to see the Autonomy crew outside of the space.

back to the beacon

Today was a good easy day.  We went for a quick walk up Beacon Rock which I haven't been to since Arturo and I hiked it years ago.  It's a nice quick way to escape to the woods and see a great view of the Gorge.  It wasn't a monumental hike but that's okay because I didn't want to spend the day hiking.  I wanted today to be all nice and easy.

What else?
Best dinner ever (or at least in recent memory).  For the first time, I had the Super Grain Salad at Vita Cafe which is now one of my absolutely favorite meals in Portland.  I had a raspberry mimosa with it and followed it up with a chocolate banana muffin from Dovetail.  It was my first experience at Dovetail and I will probably end up dreaming about it tonight.

I didn't write a post about yesterday because it was another show at Autonomy and nothing that blew me away.  However, it did get out early and we watched a movie about Temple Grandin where she was played by Claire Daines.  It was really really well done and I'd highly recommend it to everyone.