i eat weird food

 

I eat weird food. I totally own that. When we went to a vegetarian Asian restaurant (VegetAsia) years ago and they had vegetarian eel on the menu, I ordered it. That wasn't such a good choice but it usually pays off. Like today when I went to 24^th And Meatballs for lunch.

I’ve been hesitant to go there due to the word “meat” but was recently assured by a friend that they have veggie options. So today, I got the vegan balls in polenta with pesto sauce. It looks messed up (Actually, it looks like falafel in a plate of hummus with a cilantro sauce) but it was AMAZING. There is only the one veggie balls on the menu (however, their special balls were vegetarian too) but you can get them in a number of different styles like on the side, in pasta, in polenta, in a hoagie, etc, and then you can also choose a variety of sauces. I look forward to many more meals there with many more bizarre combinations!

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

 

It's hard to believe this is February! It was so nice today that Andrew and I took a walk in the morning to Rain or Shine (new) where I had a cardamon latte (new) and then we went to Genie's Too where I had their breakfast sandwich (new). On the way back, we were walking down our street and a guy working on his lawn called to Andrew. It turns out the guy is Tyler, an acquaintance of his that happens to live on our street just ten blocks away. I love this hood.

the sock dreams solution

I have to remind myself that Dean was significantly more destructive when he was Ava's age. The car used to be a safe haven for her but something got her worked up today while we were at brunch and she tore a hole in the vinyl on the back of the passenger seat.

I was pissed for a bit and then I got over it. I was planning on going to Sock Dreams anyway to spend the birthday cash my parents sent so I used the opportunity to get a sticker to patch the hole. It works. And I feel a lot better after buying a whole new sock regime.

What else?
Marc and Charlie had us over for a post-bday dinner which was wonderful. We also played a dice game called "10,000." At first, it seemed like absurd math but once we got the hang of it, it was great. And I won.

welcome home

When I interviewed for my current job, I told the interviewers that one thing I liked about the idea of working here instead of at Goodwill was I was going to be able to meet the people I serve as a whole. Often, I would think that I had an idea of who the person was based upon how they presented themselves at work and then find out they were a completely different person in the home. Aren't we all?

I'm not a voyeur or anything but I like going into my customers' homes. I like seeing (if maybe just superficially) what they deal with everyday. Some of my customers' homes are gorgeous and the kind of place I would love to take a vacation at and others are scary if not slightly threatening. Today, I got to go to a new customer's home and it was the former.

What else?
Andrew and I went to see Big Eyes tonight. Meh.

1000 acre park

 

A big perk of my job is having extra holidays off (as well as following the school schedule for cancellations due to weather). Today, I had Presidents' Day off so I took Ava to 1000 Acre Park. I have been there a number of times before but this was the first time with Ava and the first time that I realized it's all an off-leash park. There should be more off-leash areas like this around. It was so wonderful to let her run and not have to worry.

What else?

Yesterday, when I was biking back from playing Lagoon at Muffin HQ, my left pedal fell off, arm and all. It was wobbling slightly before it fell completely off so it didn't take me by complete surprise. However, I've never encountered that issue before so it gave me the opportunity to try something new: riding a one-pedal bike. It can be done. You just have to do it Flintstone style with the missing pedal side, propelling yourself forward with small kicks while your other foot pushes the pedal down and then catches it to bring it back and push it down again. I actually had it going so well that I passed the turn-off to my house by a block.

I tried to put it back on myself today but I didn't have the right wrench size so I went to Lucky 13 bike shop and the guy there tightened it up for me and gave me a lot of free advice on it. He seems like a cool guy who knows what he's talking about and it's not too far from my house so I may use it as my new bike shop.

perfectly aligned

Years ago, they used the song What's the Matter by Milo Greene the opening and closing of an episode of Supernatural. The show is hit or miss but when it hits, it hits it out of the park and this episode was particularly inventive for them. It was about three film school students who film themselves a lot and end up getting all complicated romantically. Since it's Supernatural, there was also a werewolf element thrown into the mix. One of the students survives the werewolf drama and edits together a film to explain what went down. Yes, it was a nod to Blair Witch and Paranormal but it was unique for a TV series to just throw in an episode in a different format almost completely about new characters. The show does unique very well and the episode ended up being beautiful. The Milo Greene song was the perfect choice for it. And I'm so glad it was because I looked into their self-titled album it was on after that and fell in love with it.

Weeks ago, I randomly looked up the band and saw that they were touring and going to be in Portland. Tonight, Jessica and I went to see them. They were so melodic. Like I said, I love their 1st album but I didn't really properly appreciate their sound until I saw them live. They were even more harmonious and talented in person. And the Doug Fir Lounge was a great place to see them. I'm definitely going to go to more shows there and I will be looking more into the band's latest album. And I will be continuing on with Supernatural even though it doesn't seem like the show will ever call it quits.

all the old places

I stopped blogging before I finished out my internship at the county but it was difficult to leave there. I really enjoyed the team I was on although I didn't feel as strong of a bond to them as I did with my previous internship. Still, I liked how they operated and I enjoyed the atmosphere of working in the county offices.

After I got hired at the brokerage, an older application I had submitted to the county came up and they called me for an interview. I wasn't too sure about it but I thought it wouldn't hurt to try. However, I found myself hoping that I wouldn't get the job. The pay was about 25% better, I wouldn't have had to own a car since the county has a motorpool and I would have been working in the same building as Ashes. Still, I didn't really want to do it. I like my current workplace and I would've felt bad quitting after only being employed for a few months.

Today, for work, we had a training at the county building. It will be a two day training so I'll be going back tomorrow. The weather is nice so I was able to bike in. I have to admit that I got nostalgic for my easy internship days and the ride downtown. I even got to take a break with Ashes which I missed doing. But, I still think I prefer the work I'm doing. It's not direct work either way and I enjoy the small business feel of the brokerage. Plus I get to do things like go to this training. 85% of the time, my job does not stress me out. I think that number in inverted at the county. It's really about a quality of life for me.

My new things were meeting the instructors, eating at Habibi for lunch (I love their spinach pie), and biking home under the new commuter bridge. I can't wait until the bridge is done, although I won't have a lot of excuses to use it as I don't bike downtown often anymore, which I'm okay with.

buy the book

Last year, at the end of the year, I wanted to reflect on the year based upon the books that I finished. However, I couldn't recall all that I had read so this year, I've decided to keep better track. Today, I got up at 5:20am and read that last few chapters of the book The Shell Collector. It was written by Hugh Howey who wrote the Wool series which I really loved a year or so ago. I thought it seemed like it would be dystopian as well with the seas rising and marine life dying but, it was actually a romance novel set in the not-too-distant future. It wasn't bad tho. I just wasn't what I was expecting. I like his narration style which is critical in a book for me.

So that left me adrift (!) without a course or destination in mind so I took to wandering through Powells. I should know better than to go there so aimlessly. I think I spent two hours just browsing the shelves. After much deliberation and four different choices in hand, I settled on The Outlander by Gil Adamson. I hope it doesn't disappoint. It's not sci-fi fantasy with a funny narrator so it's not my usual bag but I've trying to expand my horizons.

My new thing was actually just having the vegan skillet at Bar Carlo which was really good. Also, Andrew's had a little bit of trouble coming up with a birthday gift idea for me. I've had his for a while but he told me over breakfast just to tell him what I want. It's not the most comfortable thing for me to do. I tend to think of myself as more independent than that. If I want something, I save up for it and buy it myself. However, I don't want this process to be uncomfortable for him so I said a Kindle. Price-wise, it's comparable to what I got him and I know that I'll use it. It would be nice to be able to store a number of electronic books right in a little tablet. But because I love the recommendations and the treasure hunt of it all, I'm sure will still go to Powells and the library on occasion.

$581

For the first time ever, I owe the damn gov't money for taxes. I feel like I'm being punished. If it's correct, I most likely received more money than I should have (despite the fact that I worked for it) so I shouldn't complain but I count on this money. I knew it wasn't going to be a lot but I at least thought that it would pay for my gym membership.

I used two different tax programs from the IRS's website and came up with the same number. Usually, I used a pay program but I decided it would be easy this year so I could do it on my own and the programs were pretty helpful except both of them came up with the same result: $581 owed. I thought I had to have screwed something up so Andrew did them for me on a 1040EZ form and came up with the same number.

Damn!