just one new thing

returning to the real world

2012-02-13T21:57:00.000-08:00

I'm going to miss this place but the good thing is that I can always return.

What else?
Andrew and I went for breakfast at Grandma's Country Kitchen. The French Toast was awesome and the Home Fried Potatoes were great as well.

On the way back, we stopped at Four County Point Trail in the Clatsop Forest for a quick hike because it's traditional to go on a forest hike on my birthday getaway weekend.

cohabitation

2012-02-12T23:13:00.000-08:00

Tonight, Andrew brought up the idea of living with me. It wasn't a proposal to move in together. He was commenting on how he has lived alone for the last few years and has forgotten what it's like to co-habituate like we are doing this extended weekend. He stated that he liked it and I stated that I did too which surprised me because I figured I was more socially inept than that. He thought I was joking but I really wasn't. I've lived with roommates before but never anyone on a romantic level. I'm also an extreme introvert in that I need my time alone to recharge my batteries. However, being with Andrew this weekend hasn't been a big drain on me. I think it helps to have Dean around and also being on vacation and at the beach doesn't hurt. Still, for me, I consider this a positive experiment. I don't have high self-confidence so it's reassuring to know that I'm not as screwed up as I could perceive myself as being.

What else?
We explored Seaside today as well as Astoria again. We did breakfast at an adequate diner named Riley's and coffee at the Seaside Coffee House. I shopped for a dog toy at Beach Dog, we went to the free Shark Museum and the end of the Lewis and Clark trail and we ended up playing cards at a local watering hole called the Bridge Tender Tavern (pictured below). We struck out a few times for dinner so we ended up getting Thai at the Blue Ocean Thai. What a relaxing day.

good enough for me

2012-02-11T23:59:00.000-08:00

When I was in high school, I had a subscription to the magazine Details (which I've talked about before). At the time, I was still in the closet and relatively naive. With one issue, they sent out a sex survey, asking all sorts of questions. For fun, I filled it out dishonestly with dream scenarios. One of the questions was something like, "Where is the most exotic place you've ever made love?" I answered, "On the beach in the rain." Tonight, I came a step closer to living my dream.

Sorry if that's TMI but this is my blog, my life and I'm going to keep it real and as honest as I want.

Today and tonight was filled with just pure and simply enjoyment. We started it with a walk to the beach. I haven't been letting Dean off of his leash that much but I figured he only gets to the beach once a year so I may as well let him have his fun and he did. Then Andrew and I drove to Astoria where we had coffee at Columbia River Coffee Roasters. It was my first time in Astoria where they filmed a lot of The Goonies which was one of my favorite movies growing up so I dorked out a bit. We walked along the pier to the Goonies house (pictured above). Afterwards, we went to Wet Dog Brewery where we had some Wet Dog food :). I also had the Marionberry beer which was amazing.

After coming back to the house and walking along the beach in the sunset (sigh), we went to the Pacific Way Cafe where we met up with Andrew's ex Mark and Mark's partner Charlie who I had only met one time before. We had a delightful dinner and very gay conversation, beginning with talking about poor Whitney's death. I was really looking forward to this dinner because I liked Mark and Charlie when I first met them. Also, I got to meet their 18 month old poodle named Kelvin who bounded around the street with me like a deer.

We ended the evening with the hot tub and looking out at the stars as the clouds drifted away. It was a most memorable day and night that I will probably always cherish.

gearhart

2012-02-10T22:33:00.000-08:00

I'm on my third annual vacation to the beach for my birthday. This year, I chose Gearhart. Going to California last year was okay but unnecessary. This year, I also chose to bring along Andrew. I normally enjoy just having the time to myself but I have been having a lot of quality alone time at Muffin HQ due to Sophia's work/yoga schedule and I enjoy Andrew's company so I thought it'd be a good idea. So far, it has been.
\
It was a nice drive here from Portland and it was nice to have company for the ride. The beach house is really nice, especially for the price. It has two bedrooms (one for Dean) and a hot tub. It's also in a gated community. It's dark now so I can't see the view but I can tell that there are no houses between us and the beach.

For dinner, we went to El Mariachi, an over-the-top Mexican restaurant in Gearhart. It was nice but I don't think I'll be drawn back to going again.

What else?
This week has been filled with mediocre new things which is why I haven't been posting.

On Monday, my new thing was trying a new BBQ sauce. (See? Weak.)

On Tuesday, I tried the Vikings dog at Zach's Shack which was a mistake.

On Wednesday, I worked with a new person in my class on a in-class group project. I also talked to my teacher about my upcoming policy paper. She seemed to indicate that I could write it on problems with my work. The only problem I can foresee with that assignment is that she wants me to limit it to 10 pages. ;)

On Thursday, I went to the internship fair at PSU and met with two reps from different agencies. I'm looking at possibly interning with the county next year.

bagby 2012

2012-02-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

I love that a trip to Bagby Hot Springs during the SuperBowl has become an annual tradition for us. Justin, Ashes, Victory and I again went to visit Bagby. This year, Raven opted to not go but Jen went instead. We didn't get lost this year but we did still have to wait a while for a tub to open up so we went walking back to the car after soaking in the dark. It was almost a full moon and the sky was clear so the moonlight was strong through the trees. It was beautiful.

We soaked in a different tub this year. I liked the tub last year better but I was just grateful that we got a turn. And it's soaking in a hot springs hot tub in the middle of a forest with awesome friends in the middle of winter so I can't really complain. I will work next year to help ensure that this tradition continues.

Below are some more pictures:

What else?
A new and hopefully on-going part of the annual Bagby trip was stopping at Fearless Brewery in Estacada afterwards. They had $.75 beers (cream ales and porters) and great veggie burgers!

Also, before we got started, we all met for brunch at AND cafe. My food (a vegan pepperoni sandwich) was more normal this time and was pretty divine. I will come back just for that sandwich.

satur-date

2012-02-04T23:59:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the cheesy post title but I loved today. Andrew and I had brunch at Bar Carlo, drinks at Ford Food and Drink, a walk down the Eastside Esplanade to the Steel Bridge and back down the Westside Waterfront and across the Hawthorne Bridge, a museum exhibit (Bodyworlds) and dinner at the Produce Row Cafe. It was so perfect.

My new things were trying the french toast at Bar Carlo, seeing the beautiful art at Ford Food and Drink (pictured above in the first pic), using the toilet underneath the Hawthorne Bridge, seeing a skinless giraffe at BodyWorlds and drinking the hot buttered rum at Produce Row. So good!

solar cycle

2012-02-03T21:36:00.000-08:00

Why isn't solar power more common by now? Especially more common in place where they actually get sun more than half of the year? It's a shame because cars should definitely be infused with more solar panels. I realize you don't want these things to break but it may be worth the risk.

I don't drive enough to warrant paneling my car for solar energy so today I got a solar powered bike light. It wasn't cheap (as is the case with most solar panels) but I really hate going through batteries. Hopefully I don't lose it. I was going to order a solar light online but luckily they had one at Seven Corners. I happen to see it when I took my bike in to get the brake lines checked (which they did for free) so if I could support my favorite local bike shop AND get a solar light, I was willing to spend a bit. I really just hope I don't lose it. Also, Seven Corners was apparently burgled last night and some ass made off with a bike and several accessories. I wish a curse of nasty railroad tracks and a broken tailbone upon the thief!

Anyway, I've been sick for the past couple of days so I won't get to test my light until tomorrow. I hope it was worth it.

What else?
I took a sick day yesterday. I'm not sure if it's allergies or a bug but I did not feel well. I actually took a three hour nap which I have never done in Muffin HQ before. I can't hardly nap ever so this was a treat! It felt lovely.

volunteer therapy

2012-02-01T21:55:00.001-08:00

I hate awkward silences. For that reason, I would do well in therapy. Today, we had a guest speaker come talk to our class about motivational interviewing which had been the latest intervention to excite me. During class, he asked for volunteers. There was this dead silence and after a few agonizing minutes, two of my classmates volunteered. They just had to mock a therapy session and he pointed out aspects that were or were not considered motivational interviewing. After they were done, he again called for two volunteers. Again, there was silence. The silence in the anticipation of someone speaking up pains me so I volunteered. This time, nobody else volunteered so I had to mock a therapy session with the guest speaker in which I stated that I was there because I have a problem drinking. I should have relayed a story I have heard from my clients but I found out today that motivational interviewing isn't proven to be effective when working with people with DD in a vocational setting. Bummer.

I've used this technique with a client and I think I got decent results. However, I can look at it objectively now since it's been a few months and see that it improved our relationship but it didn't necessarily improve the client's work skills. I've even taught this technique in a class at work and now I feel sort of foolish. I guess I can look at it as one technique that people can use and not THE answer to all of our problems.

and how

2012-01-31T22:01:00.000-08:00

Today, I put myself out there and made more of a commitment than I had previously been willing to do. Each year (well, each year for the past two years), I have gone on a beach trip on my birthday with just Dean and I. I loved it the first year. Last year wasn't so wonderful but it was still nice to have a vacation. This year, I was second-guessing going. Winter in Portland hasn't been too harsh and I haven't been compelled to escape it. Yet, I feel the need to continue with a tradition. Last year may have not been what I was expecting but to not go now would feel like I was admitting that it was never a great idea. Instead of admitting defeat, I have chosen to alter my tradition slightly and invite a significant other.

For some reason, I find it difficult as well as unnecessary to refer to Andrew as my boyfriend. We haven't had that talk and it seems silly anyway. Why does that label need to be applied? I think I understand our relationship. Maybe I'll be surprised by a great lack of understanding one of these days but I'm going to go with that I know for right now because that's where it's comfortable and also a little intriguing. With labels come expectations and possibly stability. I'll take the mystery for right now instead.

At any rate, he accepted the invitation so I guess we'll see what the future holds. Interestingly enough, I found out that he is a published author today. How did I not know that? When I went to e-mail him the invite, I saw that his e-mail address was from his own dot-com. When I went to the site, I was surprised to find that he has two books on sale on Amazon. We see each other weekly now but this getaway will provide a lot more opportunities to discover new things about each other. As much as I don't like labels and the ideas of forcing relationships, I'm looking forward to what may come.

give a girl a pony

2012-01-28T23:59:00.000-08:00

One of my friends posted somewhere (on facebook or twitter or something) that her New Years resolution was to dance everyday. What an awesome idea.

I love love love dancing. Fortunately, I have my co-worker Erin who loves it too and we both love BlowPony. I wish there would have been more pop played tonight but I still danced like mad. Above is Erin dancing after she pulled her friend Chelsea (who I met for the first time tonight) and me on stage and then she went further and danced behind the super-hot DJ who had a handlebar mustache and a fake wolf tail (which I held).

As much fun as I knew I'd have, I'm still impressed that I went. I didn't hardly sleep last night and I spend the whole day exhausted although I couldn't nap. I ended up having a few shots of rum, a Red Bull and a veggie burger with an egg on top at home to get me through a few more hours. I'm glad I did because it's really been way too long since I've danced.

What else?
On the way to BP, I stopped at the Decentralized Dance Party which was happening in the streets. Had there not been BlowPony just a few blocks away, I may have stayed. Thank goodness for BP though because the DDP looked like a rave and got busted like one too.

running free

2012-01-27T23:59:00.000-08:00

I took Dean to the park for the first time in a long while today. I've been worried about his legs so I pretty much have put a stop to him running off-leash. However, I drove him to Long Haus but nobody was home so we went to the park instead. I haven't seen him this happy in months. We kept it short and hopefully it won't mean he starts limping again. I love seeing him so full of joy though.

What else?
Speaking of joy, Andrew and I went back to Dove Vivi where we had the vegetable pizza for the first time. I only have had the vegan slices there before. This, like everything else there, was wonderful!

saying nothing at all

2012-01-26T20:48:00.000-08:00

One of my clients screwed up bad last week, putting another client in jeopardy. That's one of the few things that a client could do to warrant being exited from the program. However, I have made progress with this client and I think there is hope for the client so today, I gave the client a second chance. I held a meeting with the client's whole support team including the parents. The problem is that the parents don't know part of the client's problems at work because the client specified in the client's information release that I couldn't mention this part of the problem to the parents. (Sorry for all of the vagueness but I need to vent and protect the client's privacy at the same time)

So I had to hold an entire team meeting while avoiding naming a specific and significant part of the problem but yet needing to stress the seriousness of what the client did. And I did it (and did it well). The client totally justified my second chance opportunity by starting the meeting with an apology and saying how the program has changed the client's life. It was really important for me to hear because there are times when I think that the client doesn't want to even be in the program. The client's funding agent and I both stressed the seriousness of the situation and I had to put some stipulations on the client's return to the program.

I'm sure the client's parent's thought that the stipulations were odd considering they were unknowingly missing half of the story. However, the client is an adult who receives support for the parents but they are not the guardians. Therefore, the client has the right to confidentiality. Also, the progress that we have made hinges on the client being able to trust me so I had to honor the confidentiality. Honestly, I could have gotten the client to sign the complete information release, including the part which would allow me full disclosure to the parents. However, I knew the client really didn't want the parents to know and it wasn't imperative that they did. I also could have exited the client for this latest situation or the situation which I can't discuss with the parents. However, I don't want to because the client likes the program and I think that it can really work eventually. Hell, I think it's already working. I just hate giving up. Really, if I didn't have the client, I might just get bored with my job. I enjoy the challenge and the successes. I would have to say that today's meeting was definitely a success.

What else?
Ironically, I went to Ships Ahoy after work with three co-workers to complain about work right after work. We were having our pre-accreditation tour today and yesterday. It's a bit of a farce because we clean our stuff up to a ridiculous level before the pre-tour so we make a really good impression. However, it's not an accurate reflection of our work place. What's the point in having someone come through before the accreditation process if we aren't going to show them what we're really like. Now, we have a few months to take the recommendations from these surveyors and prepare to clean up our act even further when the actual surveyors come in the spring. It feels too phoney. I don't like it. Fortunately, I still love working with the clients and therefore I still enjoy my job.

I can't remember what my new thing was on Tuesday 1/24. It's a shame because I had been doing such a good job of keeping up on the blogging.

On Wednesday, I had my first (and last) warm bubble tea. Tapioca bubbles should not be warm.

at the backfence

2012-01-23T23:53:00.000-08:00

Laughter is too greatly underrated, at least for me. I forget how great it is to laugh uncontrollably. I get happy, I smile, I am filled with joy but I just don't laugh whole-hardheartedly often enough. Luckily, I did something about that tonight.

Sophia had got tickets to this event BackFence PDX for us tonight. Unfortunately, she ended up having other plans so she couldn't make it. Fortunately, Jennifer took her spot and Tim also joined us. Backfence is basically story-telling on stage in an every-other-month event. This time, it was held a the beautiful Portland Center Stage. It was my first time there. They had six people signed up to tell stories (I think they were ten minutes long) about a certain topic. Tonight's topic was 'I didn't think this through.' The stories couldn't be memorized, couldn't be written down, couldn't include props and had to be factual. Being funny isn't a requirement but all of tonight's stories had a funny edge to them.

I don't know how they solicited the storytellers but they did a good job of getting a mixture of different types of tales and different types of storytellers. During intermission, they also gave the audience members a chance to sign up and tell a one-minute story. I signed up but didn't get called. I'm glad I didn't but I wanted to at least try.

Overall, I really really enjoyed the event. The last storyteller almost killed me. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe. I guess I'm a sucker for vomit stories.

What else?
Before the show, we went to the new Sizzle Pie location in Southeast where Rocco's used to be. I miss Rocco's.

Yesterday, my new thing was meeting Andrew's friend, Kurt. Andrew and I headed to Back Stage where we ran into Kurt and played our Battle Line game. I have to say that I'm really enjoying seeing Andrew on a weekly basis now.

adventures in brunching

2012-01-21T19:48:00.000-08:00

Today, Victory said she wanted to try someplace new for brunch so I did a quick search and found A N D cafe. They have a small but fun vegan menu with brunch and lunch items. I was daring and ordered the Pad Thai Waffle. The stuff on top of the waffle was similar to a coleslaw with noodles and the sauce on the waffle is a peanut sauce. It was very unusual. I can't say that I liked it for brunch but it wasn't bad.

What else?
After yesterday's 8 hr class, I was a little burnt out today so I spent the day watching guilty pleasure television which was good but I'm still feeling guilty enough about the programming to not mention what it was here.

intensive learning

2012-01-20T22:56:00.001-08:00

After I started high school, I looked back on elementary classes and wondered how I ever sat through a full day of class in the same room from the same person. When I got to college, I wondered how I ever sat through a full days worth of classes. When I found out I was going to have to sit for eight hours this quarter for an intensive class on mental health, I truly questioned my ability to do it. After having done it for the first time tonight, I eagerly anticipate my next class (even though it will be on my birthday) and I find myself wishing that more of my classes would be taught in this structure.

There's a few things that contribute to my enjoyment of the class. First off, my teacher is great. She's the only teacher so far to give me a B but I enjoy her style of teaching and I find her very knowledgeable. Next, I really enjoy talking about mental health, both the diagnosis and the treatment. Also, I like several of my classmates, both the ones that I've had in other classes and the ones that I met for the first time tonight. What really made this class for me though was the amount of comfort that we were allowed to provide for ourselves to get through it. I brought two pillows; one for my back and one for my butt. The classmate on my right brought a blanket because the teacher warned that it might get cold in the class. The classmate on my left brought several jars of food and drinks to sustain herself. If more classes could be this comfortable, I'd probably enjoy going more than I do right now.

If I had a criticism of the class, it was that there will only be three more classes during the quarter. I get the feeling that this will be one of those rare courses that I look back on with fondness.

What else?
I bought my first Megabucks ticket this evening on the hour long dinner break in class. If I win, I will quit my job but I'm pretty sure I'll finish school.

documenting the discrimination

2012-01-17T21:40:00.000-08:00

If you follow either of my facebooks or my twitter, you should have seen this video already. If you still haven't watched it, now's your chance. I am greatly anticipating the full documentary, so much so that for the first time, I donated to it via kickstarter. Check it out. Donating to it is great but I think that it's more important just for this message to be heard.

What else?

I'm ecstatic right now because we've been teased with snow without accumulation for days now but it's finally sticking. After watching the new Glee (!!!), I walked over to the window and almost starting screaming due to the snow. Dean and I just went for a pleasant walk around the block for our first snow as Muffins. :)

heal thyself

2012-01-16T22:30:00.000-08:00

Today, I took a mental health day (a non-sick sick day) and focused on mental illness by reading the "DSM [diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders] Made Easy." Over the weekend, my teacher emailed out the syllabus for the intensive class which begins this Friday. It's intensive because it's going to last for eight hours on a Friday. I've considered backing out of the class, focusing on my Wednesday class and then just taking an extra class next quarter but I really like the subject matter for this class. In this class, we look at the process behind which people use the DSM to identify conditions that people have. I'm not big on labels but I do love the idea of trying to diagnose someone in hopes that you can then begin to help them.

For the first time, I looked into the DSM which brought some new diagnoses to light and I gave myself a quick diagnosis which I won't be sharing here. I just need to complete my Wednesday class which is about the intervention that is to be used once a diagnosis is given so I can help myself.

What else?
Additionally, I tried the Coconut Milk Mocha at Common Grounds for the first time. It was nice and it gave me the little kick I needed to start wading through such thick material. I will say that I normally begrudge the readings I have to do but this one really interested me. Maybe I am cut out for this work. That, combined with getting to hang out with Dean and listen to trance music in the background while it snowed slightly outside made for a pretty good sick day.

snow luck

2012-01-15T20:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Andrew and I hung out and ended up getting caught up in the snow talk, hoping with half of Portland for a good snow. The other half is probably panicked over the idea. This morning, we were pretty disappointed to see that there was only a little bit of flurries that would stop occasionally and nothing was going to stick. Still, it was nice to walk in the flurries from his place to Crema, a coffee shop that I visited for the first time. They have a fabulous pastry selection that will definitely bring me back. While there, we played some more Battle Line. I finally won some games yesterday and today.

maiden voyage

2012-01-14T14:52:00.000-08:00

Back in November when Ashes and I hit the 24 hour fitness hot tub, we both looked at getting different swimsuits. The problem with men's swim trunks is that they bubble up in hot tubs and you either have to hold down the front so they don't fill with air or you have to let the bubbles escape which is akward and could be mistaken for farting. Victory asked me to use my credit card to order Ashes a pair for Christmas and I ordered myself a different pair as well, both from International Jock. The shorts I ordered are pictured above.

I was sort of surprised when I got the shorts and saw that there is a pouch in the front for the junk. I guess it makes sense but I was just...surprised and a tad embarrassed. However, we as a society expect women to wear skimpy and tight swim trunks which don't conceal the curves of their body so why should the guys be any different.

Today, I checked my modesty at the door and wore these shorts for the first time. Sophia's bikram yoga studio had a community class which is free so I decided to do it for the first time in 35 months. I can't say that I loved the Bikram, mainly because it was challenging, I was hungry and sweating is not fun for me. However, I do think that I looked damn fine. Not to be self-absorbed but my sweaty arms were looking sexy. :) Really, I don't think anyone was checking me out and nobody seemed put off by my shorts. And why should they be? They were practical for this purpose.

What else?
Yesterday was a easy day. At work, most of the people in my office were gone or in a meeting so I was able to listen to my music with ease and work with my shoes off. Casual Friday and all. My new thing was having the Company Sazerac at Sweet Hereafter with Ashes, Victory, Caroline, Ellie and later Jen. It wasn't too adventurous but it was nice just to hang out with friends.

the power in my hands

2012-01-12T23:03:00.000-08:00

It's been really cold here but really dry so I've been biking consistently. For Christmas, Ashes gave me electronic warming gloves. Today was the first day that I remembered to get them out before getting on my bike. I was expecting them to make my hands super toasty and almost sweaty by the time I got to work but instead, they just kept them...warm. I guess that's why they're not called electronic toasting gloves. Even without the electronic feature, they're still good gloves. I believe they're intended for motorcycle riding so the cuff on them is a bit longer which extends over my sleeves nicely and keeps all of the wind out. But, like car seat warmers, it's a nice luxury to be able to have the heat source.

What else?
Yesterday was the first day of class for the Winter term. Despite the rockiness of my registration process, I did manage to get into the mental health classes that I wanted. Last night was the first of them. My other class is only on four Fridays throughout the quarter but it's an eight hour class. Worse yet, it's on my birthday. Still, beggars can't be choosers (I hate that saying) so I'm just going to be content that I got into the classes. Plus, it turns out that I can count my Wednesday class as my policy elective if I write a paper about a mental health policy which won't be a problem. That means that I won't have to take an additional policy class next term!

Although I met some new people at class yesterday, I would say my new thing was going to the Sultan's Kitchen cart near PSU. It was good and they have some great looking salads so I will most likely be back there next Wednesday.

2012-01-12T22:49:00.001-08:00

hanging out with dungeon masters

2012-01-10T22:33:00.000-08:00

Today my new thing was going to Guardian Games. Yesterday, it was going to Portal Games. I think that I may be crossing over the threshold from slightly curious about the gaming community to becoming one of them.

I've been looking for the game Battle Line that Andrew introduced me to on Sunday. In the process, I've had to step into stores that are normally not my scene. However, I've noticed the scene has been growing around me. Several of my friends are in a relationship with experienced dungeon masters of ceremonies. That's...odd. And it's not like any of these guys that my friends are seeing were playing D&D together. It's just a coincidence that many of my friends find dungeon masters hot. :)

I don't believe that Andrew has ever played D&D or Magic the Gathering. I wouldn't mind if he did but I would be surprised. Since he's not into it, my exposure to it will probably be limited to partners of friends. I think it takes a lot of imagination, dedication and time to really invest in these games. I only have the first of these qualities. I like my games to be a little simpler and quicker. Still, it's a slippery slope.

What else?
Besides looking for Battle Line at Portal, I also headed to the PSU gym for the first time in a while. I had a great workout and even did 30+ minutes of cardio afterwards. Then I rewarded myself with a slice of Waldorf pizza at Hot Lips. I think that I will try to schedule my classes in the future on Mondays because Monday is Waldorf slice day and I love this pizza!

game day

2012-01-08T23:23:00.000-08:00

I've really really enjoyed this resurgence of games in my life during this winter break. So far, I've learned Wizard and Phase 10 over break. Yesterday, we played Cranium and Apples to Apples. Today, Andrew and I went up to the Star-E-Rose cafe and played some cribbage. While we played, a group of jazz musicians were putting on a performance would provided great ambiance to our game. Andrew hasn't played cribbage for a long time and I recently played with my family so I pretty much destroyed him the first two games. The third game was a lot closer but I still won. My best move was when we were laying down our cards and I ended up laying the fourth ace in a row for 12 points. He doesn't enjoy losing, and more specifically getting his butt kicked, so I actually prepped him by saying, "Okay, here we go but you can't leave..." and then dropped the points. Hells yeah. (I'm a hopeless dork)

Anyway, he later showed me how to play the game Battle Lines back at his place. It's a very strategic 2-player game. I enjoyed it a lot although he won three games in a row. So I guess we're tied. After we said our goodnights, we each promised vengeance and to practice the other game.

For a while, I have had this glorified idea that the perfect way to spend a Sunday would be to be playing games in a pub or coffee shop. So for me, this was practically a perfect Sunday.

release the krakken

2012-01-07T23:59:00.000-08:00

I liked tonight. A handful of us gathered for Destonie's birthday and played board games. As I've said before, I love board games. Combine board games with great friends and shots of Krakken (a fine dark spiced rum that I brought and tried for the first time) and you have one fine evening.

What else?

On Thursday, when I was showing the plumbers around, they wanted to see the crawl space beneath the house which meant that we had to get into the shed. The shed door hasn't been on hinges for the entirety of my stay here and probably longer. I pretty much had to undo the sliding bolt, pick the door up and set it to the side. I found that to be a little embarrassing especially because it's such an easy fix. Today, I stopped at the hardware store quick, bought a set of hinges for under $4 and spent maybe 10 minutes fixing it. Simple! While I was at it, I fixed the front screen door quick although it's a very temporary solution. Still, it means we don't have to lift the door slightly to close it.

Yesterday, I didn't do hardly anything. I was waiting for a call to go do something and ended up just reading my new book, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and drinking elderberry tea for the first time.

plumbing out of luck

2012-01-05T22:06:00.000-08:00

On 12/6/11, Arturo came over for a visit. We got less than sober and I started talking to him about how our bathroom sink doesn't drain properly so he said that he could probably fix it. Plumbing has always seemed like a task I shouldn't attempt, especially in the state that we were in. However, he seemed confident so we took off the s-pipe and cleaned it out. I don't think it helped at all except to prove to us that the problems were beyond simple solutions.

This weekend, our kitchen sink pipes developed a leak. That was the final straw for Sophia so she called a plumber to come over and see what we need to have done. They came over today during the day so I took care of them. While showing them around, I got to see Sophia's bathroom for the first time. Due to plumbing problems, it's not used so that's how I've lived here for six months without seeing the second bathroom. The plumbers were fine guys who seemed confident that they could fix the problem but they also seemed confident that it was going to be an extensive (and therefore expensive) job. Paying for plumbing still seems like too much of a responsible expense for me or my friends to have. Maybe that's a good indicator that I shouldn't think about buying a house anytime soon.

What else?
I forgot to mention that I bought a new book on Tuesday: Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. I just want one more frivolous read before I start school next Wednesday. It's a fun and easy read so I should be able to finish it in one day.

slow to grow at work

2012-01-04T21:30:00.000-08:00

One unnamed (until now) resolution for me was to be a better co-worker. Before my vacation, I decided that I would be better in my job. This not only means respecting (some of) my bosses a little more but also making more of an effort to get along with my co-workers. It's been hard because I know not all of them are as outraged as I am about my friend getting fired. Still, I have to realize that not all of them were nearly as close to him as I am. Therefore, it stands to reason that they wouldn't be as outraged. So I am extending an olive-branch to most of them and dedicating myself to being a better co-worker this year.

I started it off tonight by drinking two pints of stout and one vodka lemonade with them (at Slow Bar for the first time) and sharing stories of dumpster-diving.

Really, I do like the majority of my co-workers. I believe that most of them are getting paid more than me (not counting my scholarship) but I don't think that any of them are working this job for the money. For the most part, they have good hearts and are in in to help the clients. I can totally respect that and I will work to help them.

I get along with Erin the best so I surprised myself by going to a work happy hour without her (she's sick) and I'm glad I did. It gave me a chance to get to know some of my other co-workers a little better and it turns out that we have more in common than I thought. When my friend got fired, the hardest part for me was losing a constant confidant at work. I have had a hard time trusting anyone else there and letting go with them. I was glad to work on that tonight.

2.5 mile morning

2012-01-03T09:46:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to walk to work since moving into Muffin HQ but I wasn't able to because either I had to use my bike/car to get to another work site, I had to get home at lunch to let Dean out or I had to get to the gym right after work. Busy busy busy. However, today all of the cards fell into place for the first time. It wasn't raining, I worked out yesterday, and my co-worker left for vacation and left me in charge of the work van so I can use it to go to the other sites and let Dean out at lunch.

On the way to work, I listened to an NPR interview with Aaron Paul on playing Jesse on Breaking Bad. t was a fabulous way to start a morning and a year.

What else?
I deleted the Twitter link on the side of the page. I only ever had one person follow the blog on twitter and it didn't update correctly so I lost the one follower and just ended up getting rid of it. I'm trying a new feature instead which is signing up via e-mail to receive notifications of new posts. I'm going to try to be timely about my posts so ideally interested people could check back daily. However, if one wanted to be notified whenever I post, the e-mail link should work...hopefully. I may also be reformatting the page in the near future.

goodbye yellow brick road

2012-01-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

I get sentimental about books that I've loved. I adored the Wicked Series (although the 3rd book wasn't that great) so it was with hesitation today that I finished the fourth and reputed last book in the series. Wicked is probably one of my favorite fantasy books ever and Son of a Witch was a very fine follow-up. Out of Oz was a good ending to it all, bringing several elements and characters from the series to a satisfying conclusion. I've been close to reading the end for almost a week now but since I started reading the book at Rain or Shine, I decided I would have to finish it there as well. Today was the first day in a while that I had time to sit back and just enjoy some quiet book and coffee time. (I also had their Cardamon Latte for the first time.) It was a nice way to end a relationship with a satisfying series and unique author.

I've read some of the other books by Gregory Macguire and I have to say that I probably won't be picking up anymore. I read two others and tried a third but they just weren't the same as the Wicked novels. However, they were written in a similar enough style so that it was really hard not to compare the story and the characters to the Wicked and thus be disappointed.

Now it's 9:22pm, I'm tired (but caught up on my blog!!! Whoo hoo!!) and I want to read a book while I try to fall asleep. I picked up Warm Bodies in September but I just can't accept a zombie love story. If you have recommendations for me, leave a comment. Maybe I'll just start reading some school books early.

What else?
I also finally caught up with Breaking Bad and finished Season 4. I can't say that it's a series for everyone but it is a very well done show. Written intelligently with awesome acting and memorable camera work.

reflecting on '11, preparing for '12

2012-01-01T23:12:00.000-08:00

Last night, I asked Andrew if he thought it had been a good year or a bad year. He couldn't really decide and I couldn't either. There were definitely highs and lows but I will say that it was unforgettable. My move to Muffin HQ was a big change. Dating Andrew was a high. Work turning on me and my friends was a low. Hiking with Dean this summer was a high. Shingles was a low. Oregon Country Fair was a high. Dean getting injured was a low. Alaska was a high. Yeah, so it kind of balanced out.

This year so far has been awesome! Andrew and I had brunch this morning at Cricket Cafe where I ate the bagel benedict thing for the first (and probably last) time. It wasn't horrible but they have so many better things on the menu. I came back home and spent some time with Dean, Dominic and I later went for drinks and a movie, Sophia, XBox and I played a card game (Phase 10) for the first time and I finished the night with them at Zach's.

I'm prepared to make this an important year. I think that I'm going to look at this year as the year in which I evolve a little more. It may not all be good or bad but just a very notable year as 2011 was for me.

baby I'm a firework

2011-12-31T23:59:00.000-08:00

(This picture originates here and I don't own it. I just didn't take any of my own photos on NYE)

Yesterday, I inadvertently gave Andrew the impression that I was afraid of us as coming off too serious. I won't say how because, well, just because but I will say that that wasn't my intention. I don't know where for sure our relationship stands but I know that I want to keep it working. We've never gone on two dates two days in a row. New Years Eve seemed like a good time to start.

Tonight, we went to Sapphire and got two excellent seats in the back of the bar. I had the butternut squash enchiladas and the Dr Diego drink which was very spicy for a chocolate drink. Since we were up so late last night, we didn't head out to another bar to ring in the New Years but we did hear fireworks later on. It was a damn nice New Years Eve!

dj tophurious

2011-12-30T23:59:00.000-08:00

After J256, Sophia, Martin, Tim and I went to brunch at Delta Cafe. At the Delta, Sophia was reading an article in the Mercury which used the term, "tofurious" to describe an angry vegetarian. I fell in love with the word and applied it to my nickname to come up with my DJ name: DJ Tophurious.

Tonight, we had Victory's birthday party. The theme was Budget Recessionista. Basically, she wanted everyone to dress nice but to feel comfortable coming with thrift store dress clothes if necessary. I had been asked to DJ the party and I have been practicing for over a week now, just prepping my tunes. I had mentioned it to Andrew before Christmas but I remembered yesterday that I had been meaning to invite him even though he's never really met my friends. I was surprised but pleased that he said he'd love to go. Ack, pressure!

I don't know why I have avoided introducing him to the others. I suppose I would go back to Willow logic, from Buffy, Season 4. I just want to keep him as mine. However, I did want him there and he wanted to come so I brought him and it ended up being great. He's very charming and intelligent so I shouldn't be surprised that it went so well. I think what I was really nervous was my friends (and co-workers even) cluing him into a little more about me and he might not like something that he hears. I don't know what because I'm tactlessly upfront with him about almost everything but I was still worried. My worries turned out to be unfounded. He was very impressed by my friends and I think they reflected very well on me.

And DJ'ing went exceptionally well. People were fabulous about dancing. Once I figured out that everyone pretty much wanted to dance to pop, I had it down. I hit a especially magical stride at 128 beats per minute when I played my new favorite song, Hello. Having a wonderful party with my fabulous friends and co-workers meeting my guy, DJing an awesome set and getting much kudos for it, and having it on the Friday before a three-day weekend made for an almost perfect night.

Leave it up to me to screw that up by myself later.

hanukkah 2011

2011-12-27T23:17:00.000-08:00

When I was leaving for Nebraska the other day, my neighbor saw me and asked me if I was going to do anything to celebrate Hanukkah. I was a bit surprised because I didn't think that they were Jewish but I just told her I was going back to Nebraska for the holidays. Then she again said that I should have a happy Hanukkah. I'm pretty sure that she thinks I'm Jewish. I couldn't figure out why until Ashes reminded me that we have a menorah in the window of the house. Yeah, I guess that's logical then.

I liked the idea that someone was presuming I was Jewish rather than just assuming I'm Christian. I don't consider myself either but many people will say, 'Merry Christmas,' which actually does presume Christianity. I don't generally get offended but I'll counter by saying I hope they have a good solstice which typically throws them off.

Tonight, Bastard, Ashes, Victory, Lyra and I played drunken dreidel as we typically annually do. So I did indeed have a happy Hanukkah.

What else?
My new thing today was having the beet salad at the Red and Black cafe. I gained a few pounds while over the holidays so I'm going to lean more towards salad for the next few weeks.

I also gave positive reinforcement to a client for not repeating a pattern of bad behavior that he has had in the past. He was given the opportunity to exhibit this behavior in front of his supervisor but said that it wasn't appropriate and chose not to do so. The supervisor is relatively new to working with him in her direct supervisory role so she was more concerned with how he was given the opportunity. I chose to celebrate his proper decision not to engage in said behavior and made certain to tell him I appreciated him making the right decision. He acted like it was no big deal but then he took off his work glove and made a point of shaking my hand which he has never done. It was a small gesture but I told several of my co-workers about it because it was a gesture of appreciation which is a huge move for this guy to make. He was basically giving me positive reinforcement for my positive reinforcement. It made my whole workday worthwhile.

at the ass end

2011-12-26T22:20:00.000-08:00

Today, on my way back to Denver from Kearney, I rode in the back of the 17 passenger plane for the first time. It was a terrifying experience due to the turbulence. I was in the very back with only one other person and she was sleeping so nobody else could see the whole plane shift and slide and bump and then drop like I could. It may make me rethink ever flying in a little plane again.

christmas 2011

2011-12-25T20:26:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays!

speaking my language

2011-12-24T20:49:00.000-08:00

Eric and Alyssa went back to Lincoln today so I got to babysit my nephew Oliver (pictured above) until they return tomorrow. My mom, my dad and I took Oliver to see my mom's side of the family today, including my aunts, my grandma and my uncle Hank.

Hank lives in an assisted care living facility in a smallish town near the rest of the family. He doesn't work anymore but he's only 49. He has Down Syndrome and a speech impediment. He also speaks in a low voice so he's relatively difficult to understand. Despite the fact that I work with a number of people who have Down Syndrome, I still had a good amount of problems understanding Hank. Many of the people I work with reference names or places with which I am familiar or they repeat the same phrases consistently so I can generally get what they are saying. Being unfamiliar with Hank's general life, it made it more difficult for me. However, I then realized that he would use sign language when he would talk occasionally and suddenly I got it. I don't know a lot of signs but I know enough to get a general understanding of people.

I've been second-guessing my job lately as one can probably surmise from my tone in my posts concerning work. However, seeing my skills put to use in a situation outside of work really affirmed my sense of purpose. I still have some issues with the way my job handled firing my friend. However, I do love working with people with DD and I'm going to be doing it for a while longer while I am still in school so I may as well make the best of it. I already started to turn my attitude around right before I left for vacation (primarily because I got called out on texting during meetings). I'm going to continue on with that and reinvest myself in the work, if not for the agency, then for the clients.

What else?
We took Hank and my grandma to the Pizza Palace for my first visit there since the sandwich shop that I went to last time I was in town was closed. Sigh, no hippie for me. ;)

family game time

2011-12-23T21:00:00.000-08:00

Playing card games is a tradition in my family. On my mom's side, most of the aunts, uncles and cousins would play poker in the basement for change. They would also play cribbage quite a bit. On my dad's side, we played pitch. Also, my aunt Diane taught my cousins and I how to play hearts so we would frequently play that. I really look forward to seeing my family just because I miss them but the prospect of card games is a wonderful bonus.

For Christmas, Eric and Alyssa bought my the game pictured above: Wizard. It's a game so fun that they actually didn't wrap it and they gave it to me early so we could play when I woke up this morning. It involves a regular deck of cards but there's the addition of four wizards and four jesters. Basically, you try to guess how many hands you can take based upon your cards, the trump suit and how many points the other players think they can take. It's easy when you start playing it and very addictive. Needless to say, we played it a lot!

What else?
We went to Dona Mary's tonight for dinner. It's a Mexican restaurant established in the back of a Mexican Grocery store in Gibbon. The food was okay but the drinks were amazing and amazingly cheap. My favorite was called Paradise. It was amaretto, midori and some other things mixed together. Just sweet enough and refreshing!

On the episode of Dexter where he goes to Kearney, he goes to visit an old acquaintance who works in a hardware store so a couple crucial scenes take place in hardware stores. Today, I went looking for a Christmas present for someone and had to hit several hardware stores in Kearney. I just thought it was a funny coincidence.

planes, delays and mechanical ordeals

2011-12-23T03:45:00.000-08:00

This was the most unorthodox group of flights I have been on. I headed back to Nebraska yesterday for the holidays. I was supposed to arrive in Kearney at 9:40pm. I ended up getting there at 3am.

I was supposed to fly out of Portland at 2:40. We actually flew out closer to 3:30. The ticket agent told me that there was a possibility that I would miss my connection in Denver. However, he said if I didn't risk it, my next opportunity to leave Portland wouldn't come until Christmas day so I decided that I would just go for it. When we touched down in Denver, I ran to my next gate and made it 15 minutes before our scheduled departure time. Our departure time came and went and then disappeared on the monitor. The ticketing agents there assured me that the flight was still planned. An hour later, we boarded our plane pictured above. Denver had a large amount of snowfall earlier in the day and was bitingly cold. The plane needed a good deal of de-icing so we had to sit in the plane freezing while they de-iced it.

We eventually took off and almost made it McCook where we were going to drop one guy off and then continue on to Kearney. I would estimate that McCook is 3/4's of the way to Kearney from Denver. Before we could touch down in McCook, they announced that they were having some minor mechanical issues which were forcing us to return to Denver. It was unbelievable. We got back to Denver and were greeted again by the people that were still there waiting for their flight. They ended up being told that their flight was cancelled. Some people had been there since 3pm the day before, waiting. So, even though I was greatly delayed and left to freeze on a plane twice, I'm just grateful that I could make it home for the holidays.

ave maria

2011-12-21T23:13:00.000-08:00

This is Andrew's cat Maria. I wasn't really expecting to see Andrew before Christmas so I hadn't planned on getting him a gift. However, when he asked me yesterday if we could go out today, I decided that I should at least get him something...for his cat. Andrew and Maria moved to a new apartment this month so I got her a housewarming/Christmas gift. Yeah, I probably should have gotten him something as well but it all worked out because it was a small but thoughtful gift and he didn't get me anything either. I'm glad we don't feel obligated to do that kind of thing. I think that we're both Billy Goats.

What else?
On Monday, 12/19, I went to Stone Cottage for the first time. Sophia has some pink Himalayan rock salt when I moved in and we've gone through all of it. However, I became addicted and had to restock. Stone Cottage is pretty much filling the shoes of Limbo since they went out of business. I rather like it and I'm sure I'll go back for more spices someday.

On Tuesday, 12/20, I bought a bunch of Christmas gifts, going into all sorts of shops that I normally don't frequent. However, I can't say that any of them were particularly new. What was new was the dinner I had by myself at Hedge House. I don't like dining alone, especially in a place like Hedge House which is more of a restaurant than a bar but I was craving their Sockeye Cream Stout.

Tonight, Andrew and I also went to the Sweet Hereafter where I had their Shepard's Pie for the first time. Meh, I'll stick with the Buffalo Sub from now on.

testing...one...two

2011-12-18T23:33:00.000-08:00

I don't normally care for personality tests (that's one thing I really don't miss about MySpace) and I'm not interested in OKCupid anymore but for fun, Jesse and I took their personality test today with Sophia encouragement. He was less satisfied with his results than I was with mine. I think that it pegged me pretty well. I'm a Billy Goat!

What else?
On Friday, 12/16, I made an important phone call regarding work. I can't go into it but hopefully something will come of it.

On Saturday, 12/17, I went to my co-worker Lindsay's house for the first time for a Christmas party. Below is a picture of some of what I wore. I ended up wearing black pants instead of red, I had red and white striped socks and a green elf hat on.

right down peacock lane

2011-12-15T22:04:00.000-08:00

Every month for work, I have to find an activity outside of work to give to the clients as an option to do for integration purposes. Every year in December, I print off something about Peacock Lane. It's reputed to be quite an attraction in town but I had never been to it. It seems too family-oriented for my taste but, since I've moved only a few blocks from Peacock Lane, I decided that I had to see it this year.

Peacock Lane stretches a handful of blocks between Belmont and Stark Street. Every year, they make a spectacle of their street and practically every house puts up a crazy amount of lights. My high school best friend's dad used to do the same thing and everyone would look forward to seeing his display (except his neighbors, I imagine). But this is more than just one house, it's one street. Tonight was the first day that it was on display and it was closed to vehicle traffic so we got to walk in the streets. Sophia, Ashes, Victory, Tim, Raven and I all walked around, half of us with hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps in a mug.

I enjoyed the displays that were homemade, specifically the hand-painted Muppets display pictured above and then the interactive Peanuts display as well. Also, the caroling group of pirates were fun. I'm just largely in favor of shutting down a street to traffic, no matter what the cause. I'm glad I finally got to experience this though. It got me in a festive mood.

doggy massage

2011-12-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, I was out at karaoke when Sophia gave me a call. Dean had rolled on the ground in Xbox's coat due to the smell or whatever. He then whimpered and was unable to stand up properly. He injured his front left leg and his back right leg was already hurt. When I came right home, he insisted on greeting me and it was one of the most saddest and most endearing things I have ever seen. Sophia and Xbox were calling to him to stay down but he hobbled his way down the hall. I made him stop and I carried him to my room.

I spent all of Saturday and some of Sunday babying him. I put his socks on him to provide extra traction and then carried him around the house. On Saturday, when I took him out for his walk, he was only able to walk halfway around the block before he refused to go any further. It sucked. I hate seeing him this way.

By Sunday, he was moving a little better but was still limping a little. I e-mailed my friend who has gone to school for dog physical therapy. It turns out that she was schooled in Reiki but knew of a good massage therapist. I didn't really care how much it cost. I scheduled the appointment for as soon as I could.

Today, Laurie came over to give Dean a massage. I spent the first half of my workday nervous about how he would react and the second half bragging about how well he did. She was great enough to do a house call which made Dean more at ease. Then, she had me setup the house to get him to relax more. I then rubbed his ears while she gave him a good massage. He was mostly calm, only reacting slightly when she rubbed his hind legs. Not only did she give me some good tips about how to massage him but she told me about different natural meds, grooming tips, and home decor to benefit him.

This evening, Sophia and I headed to Ikea to buy an area rug. We bought one and he seems to love it. I've had a runner in the living room for a while but it doesn't provide a lot of area for him to lounge on. I've been meaning to buy more rugs and this was good motivation since it was just what the doctor ordered. It's a nice rug and it matched the curtains nicely. However, I'm going to have to go back tomorrow to get another one because it doesn't cover as much room as we thought it would. Hopefully, these small changes will add up to Dean doing better.

What else?

Speaking of dogs, on Sunday, my new thing was going to Hamburger Mary's for a bingo benefit for Fences for Fido. I want to work more with this organization, especially after watching the video of their first operation. Unfortunately, nobody else showed up, even to host the event. I still had some good food, read my book and had a drink before heading back. After a weekend of staying home with Dean, it was nice to get out even if it wasn't for a benefit.

sexiest sport ever

2011-12-10T21:02:00.000-08:00

Today I watched my first bit of rugby at 442 after a soccer game. Not only are the guys extremely hot but they toss each other up to catch the ball like cheerleaders!

getting the monkey off my back

2011-12-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

Months ago, when Occupy Portland started, I ended up talking to my friend Kim about my work situation. Basically, it went something like this: They unjustly fired my friend at my work but I can't quit because they're paying for my school and I'm only half-way through the program. I've tried to move past it and focus on the little bits of pleasure that my job gives me. I do love working with the clients but it's hard when I'm working within the confines of an agency with which I don't agree. I've tried applying for other jobs but I'm not pursuing it as hard as I should so I just sit back and begrudge my job for keeping me.

Last weekend, I found out that a store manager transferred one of the supervisors who work with the clients I manage. I was pissed for her because it was really unfair. She was at the store for seven years and has been doing client supervising for more than ten years. This manager was at the store for two weeks and decided that this long-time supervisor had an attitude problem and needed to be transferred. Argh, it makes me so mad.

At work today, we had our staff holiday party. I made some cinnamon raisin granola cookies (for the first time) and I also did a training on Motivational Interviewing for the first time. Still, we were all expecting to get to leave work a little early as we generally do on in-service day. When that didn't happen, we declared that we needed a happy hour. We ended up at the Gold Dust Meridian where I had their Death In the Afternoon for the first time (pictured above) as well as their homemade potato chips which were awesome. As is typical when you get a bunch of co-workers together with drinks, we began discussing work. I ended up kind of boiling over and I went off on the unfair budgeting practices of my agency. I need to keep by cool if I'm going to stay here. Really, I need someone like Kim readily available that I can talk to but it's unfair to burden my co-workers, friends or family with this all of the time. Maybe I do need therapy.

my favorite party

2011-12-08T20:12:00.000-08:00

Typically, the client party at my work is the greatest party ever but this was my first year doing it without my partner in crime. Sigh. Even before he began to work in my department, I had arranged for him to DJ the party. Now, due to the stupid stupid nature of everything, he's not here and I have to be dancing on my own.

Despite the fact that he wasn't here, it was still a fun time. Work typically sucks but this is pretty much a day that can't fail. I DJ'ed the party for the first time and a co-workers' friend brought all of the equipment and set it up. Also, for the first time, I played a High School Musical song during a DJ gig. D, the guy who likes High School Musical, not only has all of the songs memorized but all of the routines as well. He was doing one of the routines in the workplace the other day and started teaching staff the moves. I researched it a little and found the song and the routine on youtube. So I played it. I thought I would lose everyone at that point but a good amount of clients knew it and a bunch of other people were willing to dance to anything. D was a rockstar tho. Everyone sort of gathered around him in a circle, cheering him on as he went through the motions of the choreography. It was spectacular.

Really, if I'm going to work here, I need more days like this.

What else?
On Monday 12/5, I ate dinner at the Long Haus. I miss the family meals. While it's not a new thing, trying Victory's new pasta sauce was.

On Tuesday, 12/6, Arturo came over to the house and we decided that we should look at the plumbing so we took pipes off of the sink. I've never done any plumbing other than fixing the toilet tank. It seems rather easy but something that can be initially intimidating.

On Wednesday, 12/7, I sort of didn't work. I can't go into detail though here. :)

tabor trip

2011-12-04T22:42:00.000-08:00

I finished my last school assignment early and turned it in yesterday so today, I took a long walk.

I love walking. I think that is part of the reason that I'm somewhat depressed about Dean being injured is that I lost my walking buddy and my motivation to get out to a park. Hiking up to Tabor was something that I really valued this summer, mainly because I got to do it with him. However, today, I really just needed to get out and walk. He wasn't up to it and Sophia was going to hang around the house with him so I went tripping around Tabor on my own.

Honestly, I still loved it. I had twinges of regret and second-thoughts as I got started, feeling like I was betraying him. I thought about the class I just took on Old and Frail adults and thought it was hypocritical of me to learn about how we should value older adults and here I am, enjoying an afternoon without my dog. But then I thought about how maybe I should reframe our time together. As he gets older, I need to just value little walks around the block with him and chilling out with him in the house while I read a book or watch some Breaking Bad.

Comforted by the idea that I wasn't abandoning him, I proceeded to enjoy the serenity of walking just to walk. It was a beautiful day and, when I got above the #6 reservoir, I heard a guy practicing his trumpet through an otherwise tranquil early afternoon. I walked up to the top of Tabor and then back down through the dog park (which I realized I had never been to before) and then over to Rain or Shine for a mimosa.

When I got back home, I got Dean in the car and headed back to the dog park. He found a Doberman Pincher named Duke to play with. However, Duke then started to rough play with a shaggy black dog. He lightly bit the dog on the ear, like puppies do when they play. Then he brought the shaggy dog to the ground and put his mouth over the dog's throat. I was a bit concerned but then I lost focus when I saw Dean run behind Duke and start air-humping. Inappropriate, although funny. That's my dog. It was a fun ending to a fabulously chill day.

What else?

I saw the above sticker on a fence post leading up to a stairway...

bikecraft 2011

2011-12-03T23:59:00.000-08:00

Today I got to experience two of my new favorite Christmas season holiday traditions (both of which I began last year): The House Spirits open house and Bikecraft. If I'm going to go to fairs and holiday events, I want them to involve chocolate, cheese and alcohol samples or bikes. A group of us did the House Spirits thing today (after I went to the Belmont Bunk Sandwich shop for the first time) which was wonderful. It's awesome to have someone hand you samples of White Russians!

Later on, Andrew and I met at Bikecraft where I bought the above calendar (with the proceeds going to a charity), hel-muffs (which I tried to unsuccessfully make last year) and some reflecting stickers for my bike. If only everyone on my Xmas list wanted bike stuff, I would be done with my shopping.

elderly studies

2011-11-30T21:22:00.000-08:00

This has been the easiest quarter of class since I've started school again, primarily since I've only been taking one class but it also has been the teachers. My main professor was very personable, knowledgeable, funny, and not afraid to call me on my shit. The other instructor had a unique vision through the PhotoVoice project that kept it very interesting. Plus it helped not having to write a main paper for the end of the class.

We did have to present a powerpoint presentation to the class. Since I have time at work to do it, I volunteered to set up the ppt for my group. Also, I did the conclusion...sort of. I had an idea of what I was going to say but it wasn't until my group mates were performing that I really worked it out and it came off great! I'm very impressed with my comfortableness in presenting in front of a group and my ability to sum it all up off the top of my head.

We were originally scheduled to have class next week but the professor decided that today was a good note to end on. We have some reading questions to answer but that should be easy. Yay, I'm done!

What else?

Powerpoints aren't new to me at this point so, for my new thing, I got the carry-out special at Cricket Cafe, pictured above. It was most filling and really good. I may make a habit out of this...

hold the pork please

2011-11-28T20:14:00.000-08:00

Sophia went with me to Pambiche, a Cuban restaurant here in town for my first time. Pambiche doesn't have a great vegetarian menu but it does have really good and different food. I ate some root thing. I'm not sure what it was but I really liked it.

However, I didn't like the fact that a fully uniformed (gun and all) cop sat right next to me during the whole meal. His gun was right next to me and Pambiche is tight quarters inside so it was waaaaay too close for comfort.

What else?
On the flip side, I enjoyed an awesome pig-free vegetarian gyro from DC Vegetarian today. I miss gyro meat. When I was at UNK, I lived close to a laundry mat/gyro place. Since I stopped eating meat, I haven't had a gyro that came as close as today's did to Nick's Gyros in Kearney.

rain or shine

2011-11-27T22:27:00.000-08:00

Since Dean hurt himself earlier in the month, he's been sort of mopey around the house. I don't think it'd be a long shot to say that he's depressed. For the past two weeks, his whole world has been a two block radius of the house. The vet said that's as far as I should take him. Even though they said it was just for two weeks, he's still limping and I don't want to push him.

When I was in junior high/high school, I had my dog Skip. Skip was a funny loyal dog but he's wasn't exactly the smartest dog. He was also terribly afraid of thunderstorms. I became very empathetic to his fear of thunderstorms which previously rarely bothered me. However, they shook me up whenever I was near Skip. I think that the same thing is happening with Dean. His depression is getting to me.

It could also be the seasonal change, the holidays and the lack of walking with Dean that's upsetting me. I love to walk. Anyway, since he's been on the injured list, I've felt the need to stay at home with him more often. Not only has this isolated me from social interaction but it has also kept me in close proximity to depression.

Today, Sophia and X-box hung out of the house and I made my getaway. I ended up at Rain or Shine, an awesome coffee shop a little ways away from me but it is worth the journey. It has great light, a very friendly staff and comfortable chairs and couches. I ordered a coffee latte drink with lemon zest on it. It was an odd combination but it was tasty. Yesterday, I bought the fourth and last book in the Oz series by Gregory Maguire. I didn't care that much for the third book but I loved Wicked and Son of a Witch. This book, Out of Oz, is great so far. I missed Blowpony last night because I wanted to keep reading it (plus none of my friends were interested in going). Today at the coffee shop, I had a very hard time putting it down. I'm glad that this coming Wednesday is the last class for the quarter. I'm looking forward to a winter break full of fluff reading. It's raised my spirits quite a bit. Also, while biking to Rain or Shine, I passed by the above advertisement. It's not Dean but it could be. It's an ad for Kaiser Permanente. I've never had an ad speak to me so aptly.

What else?

Ashes and I hit the sauna and the steam room at 24 Hour Fitness yesterday. It was nice but I don't think I'll be signing up just yet. It has been a fun new thing though.

Justin and I hung out today on my quest to get out of the house. It's been a rather pathetic weekend but it was nice to hang out with him. Jesse then came over to our house and updated our router so our internets work properly now. Hopefully that will improve my outlook as well.

totally addicted to weights

2011-11-24T23:59:00.000-08:00

For years, Ashes and I have been hitting this neighborhood gym which is very sub-par in the equipment they have. Occasionally, I visited the PSU gym but I really like having a workout partner. This morning, my partner called me and said that he wanted to visit a 24 hour fitness. We just went to the gym yesterday and I normally only do every other day but, what the hell, why not?

It was weird but not bad. For one thing, it was nice to have working equipment. For another thing, it was nice to have a good selection of weights and available benches so I wasn't forced to increase my weight just because of the lack of 10 lb plates. Also, there was a good amount of hot guys here. :)

We're on a special three day trial pass. If it was closer to my house, I may consider it but I don't want to have to go even further out to work out and I really don't want to have to pay. Maybe I'll think about it when I don't have access to PSU any longer.

What else?

It's Harvest dinner day. Long Haus hosted again this year but it was a small event due to them potentially moving. Sophia and I spent the afternoon drinking mimosas and watching Jackass the Movie. Afterwards, I made my first Tofurky roast which turned out okay. Even though there wasn't that many people at dinner (maybe 14-16), I still ate a lot and enjoyed the company.

Speaking of good food, yesterday I tried Pacific Pie Company for the first time. The cafeteria at my work has been closed all this week due to renovations. After they reopen, they are mostly going to have convenience store food. Therefore, I will be eating out more often and I'm fortunate to have the PPC near my work. I foresee many slices of chocolate bourbon hazelnut pie in my future. Also, today, I had a pumpkin spice latte from Common Grounds for the first time. I think if I would have had these two treats together, I wouldn't have come down from that high for the whole day.

brunch date

2011-11-20T21:45:00.000-08:00

Andrew and I did brunch together for the first time. It's silly but I see this as a step but I'm not sure what it's a step towards. I like where we're at and I don't see the need to change it really but I guess it's fun to see where it can go.

What else?
I fell off the wagon properly yesterday. Jenn and I had drinks for brunch, I met Josie (yay!) for drinks at the Red and Black (where I had my first Shot in the Dark which is an espresso shot in a stout) and then Jesse and I went drink some Terminator Stouts while watching the Terminator at the Bagdad Theater. And then of course Andrew and I had drinks today. Oh well, I knew it was only a week long ride when I got on.

Oh, I got my haircut yesterday too and once again, by a new stylist.

the pregnant lady special

2011-11-18T22:30:00.000-08:00

Not drinking alcohol has been interesting but I'm sure glad it's done tomorrow. Yesterday, a group of us went to My Father's Place where I ordered a tea for the first time at a bar. Today, Jessica and I went to the Horse's Brass where I ordered an awesome root beer. When Sophia was gearing up for yoga competition, she used to ask bartenders to make her the pregnant lady special in order to get a unique non-alcoholic drink. I don't think I can pull that off. The less fun version I guess would be to ask for the designated driver drink.

I haven't hated the experience but I'm sure glad it's been a week already. I almost counted the 'week' to be over at 6pm tonight since my last drink was 6pm on last Friday but, no, I can hold out for tomorrow. Jenn and I are drinking mimosas!

What else?

Jessica and I went to a movie called The Way which was only really worth the pretty scenery. It was kind of like watching the Discovery Channel except Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez and several character cliches get in the way of the view.

I got my Christmas bonus today. The way I figured it, it's two thirds of the hourly salary of the president of the company. Yep, it takes me three days to make what he makes in an hour. Today, I literally had to pick up shit. This sucks.

letting the rain win

2011-11-16T21:40:00.000-08:00

When I moved out of Long Haus and gave up insuring my car, my supervisor asked me how I was going to get to work when it started raining. I told her I had plenty of rain gear but I could always bus it. I've held out having to take the bus until today but the forecast for rain was bad and I just wasn't in the mood to get wet.

It wasn't a good start to my new bus commute. I bought a five dollar all-day bus pass and quickly regretted it. The Morrison Bridge is under construction which means that the Belmont bus has to go across the Hawthorne Bridge and, in doing so, has to navigate SE 7th Ave. Despite how long this construction has been going on, SE 7th Ave traffic still isn't used to having a bus between Belmont and Hawthorne and I spent around 10 minutes just trying to make it between the two streets. I could have walked it in that time.

As I bussed back downtown for class tonight, I forgot the Belmont bus would make a sharp northern turn as soon as it got across the river so it could correct its construction detour. This took me way far away from PSU. I ended up having to run from SE 2nd and Morrison back up to PSU.

I was pissed and not in the mood to get back on the bus to go home after class. However, as if the universe was offering up an apology for the shitty commuting service I had received throughout the day, I found a $5 bill on the ground before my last bus stop. That kind of made it all worth it.

health concerns

2011-11-15T21:21:00.000-08:00

On Saturday morning, I had brunch with Tim, XBox, and Sophia. Tim talked about how he and a friend have given up drinking for a week. While that sounds really easy, I thought it would provide enough of a challenge to make it interesting. Jennifer agreed to do it with me so we had our last drinks on Friday night and haven't drank since.

Today, I felt wonderful. Maybe I really needed to detox my system! It was a bit of a challenge on Sunday when I met up with Sophia and Justin at the Horse Brass pub. They have an excellent beer selection but I held strong and chose an orange soda instead. I know that when I started drinking in college, I had a drinking problem. However, I don't really like to drink that much anymore but it has become routine for me to have a beer in the evening or drink socially with friends. I'm glad Blowpony's not this weekend because I would pretty much have to drink then.

Along with stopping a negative, I added a positive, or five pounds to be more specific. I increased my bench press rep weight again. I now bench 185 lbs. That's me and a baby! With doing 4 sets of 7 reps, that comes to 5180 lbs I lift whenever I go to the gym!

What else?
On Sunday, as I was biking over to Long Haus to work out, I had a revelation about my work. I can't go into it here but it made me realize that I have got to start getting some things in order. That was my new thing yesterday.

This week, Dexter took place in Kearney, NE. Crazy! If that wasn't enough, he mentioned going to Portland from Kearney!

it's the final countdown

2011-11-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;hh&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Earlier this week, Portland's Mayor Sam Adams announced that people would have to evacuate the occupation by 12:01am on Sunday morning. While I am unsure about the exact intent of camping in a park, I agree with the general message of dissent and dissatisfaction with the current system. I also expected that there would be police violence. Why else would you evict someone in middle of the night? However, I didn't expect so much community support.

I don't want to write about the whole experience again as I have already posted a story about it here on Indymedia. I will however say that it was unbelievable. I spent all night downtown with a couple thousand people standing off against the cops until the sun came up. Absolutely surreal.

It wasn't easy. It was rainy and cold and I should have brought snacks. At around 2:30am, I was ready to go but instead I just took a break, got some food and cocoa, and went to the bathroom. I was able to last until dawn after that. Shortly after returning, I filmed this video:

After 6am, I hit my wall and had to go home. I was in the street for what would be an entire work day which also meant that I was also up for almost 24 hours. For the rest of today, I hung out at Long Haus, uploading my videos and pictures and writing the story.

discontent is the first necessity of progress

2011-11-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, as I was biking to work, I realized that I had forgotten to register for classes...again. This school year has been hard for me to remember to register on time because for the past two years, I have had to register on Tuesdays, not Mondays. By the time I got to work and logged onto my computer, I saw that the classes I had originally wanted to take on Mental Health were all full. So I was screwed.

As soon as I discovered that I couldn't get into these classes, I wrote to the instructor who was teaching them. I took a class with her my first year and, although she's the only instructor to give me a B as a final grade so far, I still thought she would let me in. So, with that settled, I proceeded to have an awesome evening, doing all of my laundry, patching my clothes and sorting the garbage, recycling and mail. Then, at 10pm, I got an e-mail from the instructor, saying she couldn't add me.

My plan was to take as many classes on mental health as possible so I could graduate with a lot of knowledge about the topic and move to New Zealand in the near future where they have an excellent Mental Health program. Now all of that is shot to shit. I contemplated taking a quarter off but then I thought how work would deal with that. Then I thought, if I'm not going to school, maybe I should just look for my dream job: working with animals.

The Pixie Project is hiring for an animal care specialist/clerk. I don't have any professional experience but man do I want this job! I stayed up until 1AM adusting my resume and writing a cover letter. If I got this job, it would mean that I would have to postpone school indefinitely which I am fine with doing. I'm following my gut here which has almost always led me down the right pathways.

However, I am not putting all of my eggs in Pixie's basket. Today, I wrote to the counseling department at PSU to see if I could take a class on the medical aspects of disability. They said yes and signed the special register paperwork for me. Even though it's not a part of my plan, it is still wonderful that I get to take a class geared specifically towards disabilities.

What else?

On Sunday, I had the Cricket Scramble for the first time. It was wonderful. Later on, I met up with Andrew and I found my wallet in his couch while I looking for my hat which I have lost.

On Monday, I discovered how to filter out certain terms in e-mails at work. I filtered out "Santa" since my big boss is already pushing Secret Santa stuff on us. I then taught several of my co-workers how to do the same thing. I guess we're the Secret Scrooges.

Ashes and I ate at Homegrown Smoker today for lunch where I had the fake fish Fillet of Fu for the first time. I also picked up a new hat from Double Darn that was custom made for me. This time, it's dark brown with light pink stitching.

shonen knife!

2011-11-05T23:59:00.000-07:00

Shonen Knife has got to be my favorite band to see live! They are so much fun that I went to Dante's tonight to so see them. Normally, I would never be in Dante's on a Saturday night for a punk show but I love this band. Last year, I didn't know who they were when I went to their show. Since then, I have got a lot of their CDs and listen to them a LOT. So this was special to see them, know their songs, and know that they were going to be awesome!

For Dante's, I was surprised by the crowd. There was a mix of young and old. I was definitely not the oldest person there. When the band started, they opened with Capybara which is a delightful song to pogo dance to. This led to continued dancing which meant a bunch of us were shoving each other and we danced together. After a couple songs, the dude directly in front of me stopped dancing suddenly, goes over to his girlfriend, motions at me and reaches over and shoves me. I just went on to enjoy the show. The dude later comes back to dance and ends up tossing a beer back which hits the four or five of us directly behind him. Props to the bouncer who then put the guy in a headlock and threw him out. Despite that, it was an awesome show!

What else?
Five of us went to A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas which was stupid fun and probably the best 3D I've seen. Right afterwards, we went to Horse's Brass where I had the veggie pasty for the first time.

After Shonen Knife, Jessica dropped me off at Mattachine, a dance party at Branx named after the Mattachine Society. John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig) was supposed to be DJ'ing but I didn't see him. I did see someone wearing a fur, complete with the animal's head and feet still attached. I was so disgusted that I left and walked home. Still, I maintain that it was a good night.

dog bones

2011-11-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

Dean has been limping really bad for a few weeks now. This morning, I touched his right hind leg and he yelped so I figured he broke something. Initially, I thought it was just arthritis but since there was a definite tender spot, I thought maybe it would be treatable.

I took him to the vet and they decided that they wanted to X-ray him. They told me it could possibly be bone cancer which I really wasn't prepared to deal with. They showed me the X-ray so I got to see his bones which were actually in good shape. They said his hips look great which was a shock. Thankfully, it was just a partially torn ligament on his knee. The vet gave me some meds for him and told me to keep him on short walks for potty purposes only for the next two weeks. I also have to ice his knee daily which I did tonight for the first time. $333 later, I have a dog that's on his way to recovery. It's been depressing watching him limp around the house. Hopefully, this will make us both feel better.

he wants revenge

2011-11-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

Today, I was eating with one of my clients G who threatens war in the hallway and tries to blow up things like Iron Man. Another client D who like High School Musical was sitting right behind G and getting more upset by the minute. D says that G annoys him with his loud voice but always chooses to sit near G. I told D he could move and I asked another staff member to encourage him to move to a different table but he refused. D also chose to stand next to D as we exited the cafeteria building to walk to their production building. As soon as G gets out the door, he yells "I'm invincible!" in reference to Wolverine. D promptly turns towards G and projectile vomits over G's walker and coat.

It wasn't really vomit but more like spit and food. However, D did make a vomiting noise. G understandably screams and runs across the street towards the production building. I hang back with D and ask if he was okay and he said yeah, he was mad at G. When we get to the building, I ask D to come into the office with me where I ask him if he was feeling sick or if he purposely spit on G. D said he wasn't sick and he spit on G because G makes him mad. I then told D that this was never acceptable behavior and he said he was sorry.

I stayed behind to tell his boss what happened and could hear G in the break room where he was yelling about getting thrown up on. When I went back to the break room, I saw that D was at his locker right around the corner from G, talking about how upset G makes him. G started to walk around the corner and D again turns to him, makes a vomiting noise and spits water in G's direction. Fortunately, G jumped back in time. I told D that he had to go to the bathroom and throw up properly if he was sick. D then screams that he hates G and is going to quit. He throws his nametag at G, misses, and storms off. D later runs across the production room and slams a fist into the breakaway sliding glass doors which breaks them open. A third client runs to him and screams, "What did you DO?!?" I'll tell you what he did. He gave me my favorite client story to date.

halloween 2011

2011-10-31T20:06:00.000-07:00

I love this day. I love wearing costumes and today, it's not only not unusual but it's also expected. However, I still love to be exceptionally flashy. I was a protest fairy today. I had to be a fairy because that was the themed costume that my co-workers (pictured in the first photo) and I chose. However, I didn't want to be just an ordinary fairy so I made up a sign with marker and glitter that said, "Occupy Never Never Land" on one side and "Fairy Pay for Fairy Work" on the other. Plus, a dog is a great accessory so I put Dean's wings on him and we went for a fairy walk down Hawthorne.

My new thing today was attending the clients' Halloween party. Last year, I told the bosses before Halloween that I didn't want to have the clients paraded through the offices in costume on Halloween. We always tell people not to refer to them as children or treat them like children but the Halloween parade was very childish. Instead, we threw a party. I was at my internship last year on Halloween so this was my first work Halloween party.

It should have been better organized. To say that there is discomfort at my work right now would be an understatement. This has led to a "Can't someone else do it?" attitude which allows for a lot of projects to fall apart. I was concerned that the party today was going to be one of them but we all stepped up and made it a successful party which was pleasantly surprising.

What else?
In years past, we've walked with Raven as he's gone Trick or Treating. This year, he decided that he and his friends wanted to go it alone so we hung back at the coffee shop in Ladd's Circle while they went out. Sigh, I'm going to miss Trick or Treating. I need to either make it a point to head to Seattle on Halloween in the future or make more friends with parents of younger kids.

my great pumpkin

2011-10-29T23:51:00.000-07:00

Out of all of the holidays, I gotta say that Halloween is my favorite. Still, I can't say when the last time was that I carved a pumpkin for Halloween. Sophia and I decided to get more festive today so we went to the store, bought pumpkins, carving kits, party snacks, and beer and invited people over to celebrate with us. It's the first party-like gathering we have had at the house since I moved in last June.

It was a light, easy-going evening with music, Apples to Apples, and good friends. Only Sophia's man X-box (that's his nickname) and I carved pumpkins. I chose to do Guy Fawkes. I'm so terribly proud of the pumpkin. It's by far my best. I didn't do so well at Apples to Apples but I had a lot of fun.

What else?

I got my Halloween costume together this morning too. I went to Classic Collections on Hawthorne an bought a new blue hat. I then biked to Sock Dreams in Sellwood and bought some blue striped socks. Afterwards, I ate at the Blue Kangaroo coffee shop for the first time. Finally, I found a blue suit at the Woodstock Goodwill and some glitter at Fred Meyer. I always think that I'll get this costume thing done earlier in the year but it never happens. I'm going to say here and now that I will have next year's ready earlier!

honey badger don't give a sh*t

2011-10-28T23:59:00.000-07:00

I love Halloween but I haven't really gotten in the mood yet until today. I known that I was going to be a fairy for work since all of us case managers are going to be fairies but that's really all of the planning I have done. Tonight I went to my co-worker's house party (for the first time) where another co-worker was dressed up like a honey badger (in the middle of the picture above). The creativity of the costumes was inspiring and gave me the push I needed to get in the spirit. I went as a rancher, wearing a western shirt, brown pants, a straw hat (impractical for a rancher) and my grandpa's coat. I'll definitely be more festive on Halloween. Due to my late night with Andrew last night, I turned into a pumpkin early though and left the party after only an hour or so. I may be festive but I'm still not overtly social.

motivation for change

2011-10-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

At my work, we have annual meetings with each client and their team to review their progress for the past year and make goals for the next year. I've done so many of these meetings that it's ridiculous but I've never really felt that they were that effective. It's similar to my evaluation at work. The day to day criticism means more to me than a 30 minute summary of how my bosses think I've been doing. Normally, I conduct these annual meetings in a very formulaic manner. I care what the clients think and I almost always focus on their successes. However, it's still my evaluation of them and my plan for their future. Sometimes that works because the client simply does not know that the next step is and needs the reinforcement. However, most of the time I feel that I'm being condescending.

When we did our motivational interviewing exercise in yesterday's class, I initially believed that this form of intervention wouldn't work for my clients because of the high suggestibility among people with developmental disabilities and also the lack of self-determination. But that is even more of a reason to use it. During class, I kept thinking about the meeting I had scheduled today for my most challenging client. This client has had competitive jobs in the past but has failed at them because he lacks ambition and focus. I can relate. Anyway, I was going to go into the meeting today with a set of goals that I had constructed for him at the request of his supervisor. One goal was to only use the bathroom once between breaks because this guy will spend more than half of his day in the bathroom using his cellphone or just avoiding work. Given this client's potential, I knew that this goal would upset him and I was having a hard time justifying it.

First thing this morning, I took my list of motivational interviewing questions to this guy's work site and began to interview him. I didn't offer up any criticism or suggestions. I simply asked questions like, "What do you feel you need to be working on in this program?" "Why do you want to change this aspect of your vocational training?" "How important is it to you to change?" "What are the top three reasons for change?" Basically, he came up with a short list of issues that he sees he has and potential ways to turn them around. It was WONDERFUL! This was by far the best meeting we have ever had and he opened up about some light personal stuff and we found common ground.

It's nice to know that school isn't just about getting a piece of paper or three letters behind my name. I give my professor a lot of credit for making these concepts into interventions we can work into our practice. I know that motivational interviewing won't work for all of my clients but it is so simple that I think I will most likely try it with everyone and I told my boss that I want to train all of my co-workers on it!

What else?
Andrew and I went to Apizza Scholls tonight and split a pizza there. We had the New York White with half red and half white sauce. It was good but not as good as the Tartufo Bianco.

moving past first impressions

2011-10-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

They say that you never have a second chance to make a first impression. That's true but people should also never make decisions based upon first impressions. When I initially meet people, I am usually shy and awkward if not just rude. If some of my friends had made their final decision of me based upon my first impression, I'm sure I'd had a lot less friends now.

In my class, there's a guy who always ALWAYS shows up late. Initially, I thought of him as lazy and/or irresponsible because he was late. He was then late to the next few classes as well and by now we have all just come to expect it. However, I did a motivational interviewing exercise with him today and got to talk to him for the first time. We did this exercise in regards to his tardiness and why he wanted to change that aspect of his character. It was cool because I got to really understand where he was coming from, he got to come to his own understanding about why he is always tardy and I got to change my perspective about him. I doubt we'll be hanging out but it's cool that I am at least not jumping to judgements about him.

In other renewed opportunity news, I gave Hungry Tiger Too another chance today. Sophia and I had been offended by their veggie Reuben a while back and then they gave us an animal leg in our tofu basket months ago. I heard that they rearranged their kitchen so I decided to let bygones be bygones and give them another chance. I had an awesome tofu veggie scramble and biscuits and gravy. I'm glad I came back.

What else?
I had to take a client on a community business tour today so we went Kruger's farmstand market and to the Flying Fish Co. where I bought some good organic eggs.

jessica's birthday

2011-10-24T22:54:00.000-07:00

I'm very bad at staying in touch with people. I blame facebook for a lot of that because it makes me lazy. The fact that I see someone's status every other day leaves me with the impression that we are still in touch. However, I don't write a long letter to them anymore and I don't call people and have long conversations. And everyone that I knew from a while ago is back in Nebraska so I don't hang out with them regularly. Jessica is the exception.

Of all of the people that I knew from my college days, Jessica is the one person that I talk to regularly. I love all of my friends that I've met in Portland but it's nice to have someone that knows a different side of me. Hell, most of my friends from here only met me after I was out. Jessica was the first person that knew me from before Portland that I came out to. I love hanging out with her once every other week or so and just catching up or reminiscing or whatever.

Tonight was her birthday and to celebrate it, I met her and her friends at the Slingshot Lounge in felony flats where they let a cat run free throughout the bar. It was cool to see her in her element with her Portland friends and then a few of us from Kearney. I think I may have to try to get together with her and our friend Shawn who we never see even though he moved up here years ago, and catch up just to stay in touch.

mr whiskers

2011-10-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

After the excitement of ZomBcon, we took today to hang out with friends and chill in Seattle. We all went to Highline, a vegan bar on Capitol Hill where they were playing the 80's movie Ghoulies at 11am. Then we went to Espresso Vivace. I also found some big blue fairy wings for Halloween at Metro. However, the best part of the day was waking up at Josie's and spending time with little Mr Whiskers (Ian) while drinking mimosas with Josie, Michael, Jennifer, and Jesse. I love kids, especially around 18 months. Mr Whiskers is in a cute 'monkey see, monkey do' phase where he'd repeat a lot of what I said. He was also petting one of the cats a lot and, when I went to pet it, it lashed out at me. It just got me with one claw but I said Ow and waved my hand around. Mr Whiskers then dropped a plastic toy grasshopper on his hand and repeated Ow while he waved his hands about. Too precious!

zomBcon 2011

2011-10-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

Despite my self-proclaimed fanboy/dork status, I have to say that ZomBcon today was my first convention ever. It was interesting and I even had a moment I got all starstruck by Sam Trammell who plays Sam Merlotte on True Blood. He is sexy as all hell and I got to find out that he's also a pretty decent guy too, judging by how he appeared in his panel. My favorite part was when someone asked him about the dream sequence that he had with Stephen Moyer (Bill) where Bill was seducing him with his vampire allure. Sam stated in the panel that he was surprised to hear that straight female fans also loved that scene. Hopefully that means there will be more of them in the future.

Overall, the con was okay. Sean Patrick Flannery was a coked-out douche that was begging to get punched in the throat almost literally and I was expecting a bit more with the costuming but I still was not disappointed by the event as a whole.

What else?

Afterwards, we had pho (my first time) at Pho Than Brothers and walked around until we found Redwood which is a dive bar/college bar. It was nice but tiring as vacations normally are.

seattle driving

2011-10-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today, I drove in Seattle for the first time. Five of us came up here for ZomBcon which we're going to tomorrow. I rented a Zipcar for the weekend to get us all here even if the Mazda III did make for a tight fit, I still managed to get us where we needed to be. The car had just over 2000 miles on it which is one great advantage to taking a Zipcar. It's in great condition and the gas is paid for. Plus, if I'm going to navigate around the biggest city I've ever driven in (which also has a reputation for horrible parking possibilities), it's good to be small and functional. The Zipcar has California plates too so if I make any mistakes, which I did, the Seattle residents can cuss out Cali.

We met up with Josie and headed out to Bamboo Garden where the food is great and strictly vegetarian. We followed that up by heading to the Streamline Tavern. I love exploring Seattle with Josie because she knows all of the best places to go that aren't touristy and packed. Plus it was all within walking distance from her house. After a LONG drive up here, I was ready and willing to walk. Hell, Jennifer and I even ran down Queen Anne Hill.

my first photo voice

2011-10-19T16:57:00.000-07:00

I use photos in this blog most of the time to illustrate my post. Sometimes the picture is the post and sometimes I include a picture just because I like it and not because it necessarily has anything to do with the post. I would like my pictures to be more purposeful than pretty though. I have had 1111 posts so I have a little experience with using photographs to illustrate a point. Therefore, this photovoice project should be easy for me.

Initially, I had a lot of ideas about how to portray the Mental Health issues regarding aging. Most of these ideas revolved around using human models but we're not supposed to have people be the focus of the picture so I've got to think outside the box.

For my first set, I included the above picture to illustrate isolation. I also a picture of a tombstone with two spouses on it with only one of them having a date of death to illustrate loss and grieving. I also found the concept of putting your name on a tombstone at the age of 56 to be disheartening. Even though your spouse dies, you don't have to just start counting down the days until your own death. I however am jaded on relationships and undying love and all of that so what do I know.

Anyway, my new thing for today was using the D2L program at school to submit these photographs.

What else?
I also visited the PSU hot tub first thing this morning for the first time this quarter. This is going to have to start happening more regularly.

hunting the elderly

2011-10-17T23:07:00.000-07:00

With the weekend being full of pedi's as well as birthday and pity parties, I didn't have any time to work on my homework and we had a lot of reading due this week, not to mention two photos and three short essays. Therefore, I took a sick day and just read all day until the afternoon when I went to shoot some older people in the park.

My initial concept for my first PhotoVoice picture for my class was to take a picture of an elderly person spending time with a dog at the park. The idea was to look at what brings about positive mental health for people as they are aging. For me (and I'm sure many others), dogs always make things better. They'll get people outside more, get them exercise, and provide them with a purpose, companionship & love. It was a bit weird trying to capture a picture without people knowing but I didn't want to ask because I'm too shy. Besides, the teacher said we weren't supposed to take pictures of faces so the person wouldn't be able to be identified. However, I also read through the syllabus and saw that the teacher didn't want a person to be the primary focus of the picture. So my hunt was in vain. At least I got all of my reading done and some other photos taken.

my bad day

2011-10-16T21:55:00.000-07:00

Sigh, today started off well enough. The Mars Hill Church had it's first mass today in my neighborhood. This church opposes queers and yoga so they're really in the wrong neighborhood and, while I'm all for freedom of religion, I don't care for someone telling me that I'm wrong in my own backyard. So, I met the protest outside the church where we listened to a lot of Rihanna really loudly. It was fun and the day proceeded to quickly go downhill from there. I guess that's what happens when you start a day picketing a church.

Sophia and I went to Circa 33 where I have always been impressed with the food but today I tried the Breakfast Bruschetta for the first time and it was almost impossible to eat. To help fill me up, I ordered a biscuit that ended up tasting more like chemicals than food. After that, I headed to Seven Corners where Corey got me a new tire. It sucked having to buy a new one but at least he had one readily available and I'm sure he gave me a good deal on it but it was still $92 that I shouldn't have had to spend. Then, while biking the tire home on my other bike, I ended up wrecking. It was like a dark cloud was hovering me today. Hopefully, my luck will change tomorrow.

What else?
The one shining bit of today that shined through all of the dark clouds was that Zachary Quinto (Sylar from Heroes and Spock in the new Star Trek) came out as a gay man. That's enough to make the dark clouds part and that angels sing in my world. Thank you Mr Quinto! You have made my day.

Also, I finished the Y series. So good but so hard to let go.

muffin pedi time

2011-10-15T23:59:00.000-07:00

Oh Saturday. I got my second pedi ever today. This time, I went with Sophia to Vogue Nail where I not only got a pedi but I got my toes painted a dark silver and I was repeatedly violated by a invasive massage chair. Not that I didn't enjoy it though. ;)

What else?
After our pedicures, we shopped around Hawthorne for a while and went to Classic Collection which appears to be a hat shop that had to incorporate other items into the store to justify the space. I'll most likely buy something there in the near future.

In the evening, I met up with Ashes and Victory to celebrate his birthday. I helped his family celebrate it yesterday as well when we went to his parents' house and I got to meet his new nephew Charlie for the first time. Tonight though, it was bowling, dinner at the Red and Black and then karaoke where I got to sing six songs. That would have been a perfectly satisfying end to a great day but no, some butthole had to ruin it by stealing the front tire off of my bike. I normally only lock the front tire up maybe 15% of the time so I was probably due but it really sucks. Why the hell would someone need just the front tire? With something like this, it appears to just be thoughtless vandalism. If they were going to steal the whole bike, then I could at least think, "Well maybe that will at least be one more cyclist and maybe they really needed it," but this was just one tire. What a dick!

photo research

2011-10-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

This is a very different school quarter for me. For one thing, I'm only taking one class. It's weird because I'm used to having my energies divided and now I can focus them on this one class. It's also different because it's so very specialized to one population and then there's the fact that I don't have any major papers due at all. My grades will be based upon simple one paragraph answers to questions about each of the readings and also upon photographs.

For this class, I'm going to be taking pictures that represent some aspect of aging. Tonight, we had our research instructor come to class for the first time and explain this project. I also selected Mental Health and aging. It's going to prove to be interesting and unique as well as refreshing. I love to take pictures anyway so the idea of getting graded on my photographic creativity is intriguing to me.

What else?
On Monday, I raised my bench press to a new high, 180 lbs!

On Tuesday, I tried Zach's Shack's new apple and sage veggie sausage. It was awesome. I talked to Zach himself about it for a while. He was never keen on the veggie dogs but he said he's addicted to the veggie sausages. Like I need another reason to keep coming back to this place. :)

marathon marching

2011-10-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

I made up for missing the big Occupy Portland march on Thursday by attending today's solidarity march(es). I believe there were two marches originally planned today, one heading from PSU south park blocks and one heading from the Rose Quarter. Ashes, Nathaniel and I met Victory down there to try to cover the marches for Indymedia but then I ran into at least two other marches besides the two that were initially scheduled. Add on top of that the Portland Marathon which was going on at the same time and it made for a busy day.

Anyway, I bussed around for a while, trying to chase after the marches and I ended up just meeting them when they all came together at Natio Parkway, following the main group of Marathon runners. It was pretty impressive in size and I saw a lot of people there that I don't normally see at protests, including classmates from school and neighbors. Whatever becomes of this movement, it's good that people are finally paying attention.

Here is a quick youtube video of the march:

What else?
After a long day of marching and marathons, I met up with Justin, Jesse and Sophia for drinks and I got to ride in Justin's new car for the first time.

encamping

2011-10-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today, I checked my cynical ass at the door and went into the encampment for the first time. Wow. Okay, so yesterday, having not walked through the camp, my perception of it all was that it was some punk squatters saying they wouldn't move until everything was fixed for them and they didn't have to pay their college loans back. Well, that was exactly what I DIDN'T see there. Instead, I saw a community full of a variety of ages, classes, races and backgrounds coming together to voice their frustrations with the system and to brainstorm how change can happen. Just...wow!

It really reminded me of the Oregon Country Fair, except nobody was trying to sell me a three dollar lemonade and I wasn't wearing a skirt. And it wasn't just because I saw Jimi Hendrix (pictured in the third-from-the-top photo. As Community Village is, the Occupy Portland encampment was full of caring, awesome and organized people. They weren't an elite group that had survived camp and now only identify with other campers. They were people doing outreach and just talking to one another and whoever came through the park. In fact, they were having sanitation issues so they were encouraging people to not camp if they didn't have to but to come, learn, talk, hang out and then participate in support activities like the marches and rallies going on tomorrow.

This really put my mind at ease and blew it away at the same time. They had committees organized, they had an information booth, a safety booth, a library with rotating speakers (and anyone could sign up), a food booth with free food and people designated to help if you experienced conflict with anyone, sexual assault or just needed medical attention. And this is ALL in this one little park. It was beautiful. I am soooo damn proud of this city!

Also, the occupy movement has won me over as well. Almost every state has at least one Occupied city (c'mon Wyoming and South Dakota, North Dakota is making you look bad!). Oregon has a few Occupied cities. One of them is Seaside. This surprised me but Ashes filled me in on what is happening in Seaside. It's a very sought after vacation spot where people own beach houses. Therefore, the rent is high and the land is expensive. So expensive in fact that people who work in Seaside can't afford to live there. There have been reports of people having to camp in the woods outside of Seaside and then hike into work each morning. Part of their Occupation revolves around finding a solution to this problem. That's inspiring and so awesome. On a side note, maybe I should have done some remote reporting for Indymedia and headed to Seaside to do report from there for the weekend.

What else?
It was a clear and sunny day for the most part today and I spent it chilling with Dean. I also cooked breakfast today using potatoes that Tim had planted in our front yard when he lived here. He comes over and digs them up on occasion. They were really good and it's awesome that they grow under my bedroom window

preoccupied with yesterdays

2011-10-07T23:46:00.000-07:00

When all you've got is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.

I screwed that phrase up last time I blogged it out (which was more than 2 years ago) so I decided to restate it after today's experience.

Portland Indymedia's webradio has been in a state of transition for the past year and a half. Because of that, new content hasn't been generated and I'm sure that any listeners we did have have moved on to new sources and grown with the new technologies. In today's world of technological advances, a year and a half is a pretty significant period of time. Factor into that the fact that we weren't really up-to-date before we stopped broadcasting and we have almost become obsolete.

Today, the occupation of Portland continued and we had radio coverage of the event in a different space for the first time. We are using twitter and AIM so I guess we are evolving but Atomic and I had a discussion about whether or not we're just looking for nails in a world that has moved onto screws. As I have demonstrated, it's easy to get your voice out there. Indymedia was developed at a time when blogs and social networking sites weren't common and information didn't spread like wildfire. Still, I think that Indymedia, specifically Portland Indymedia is somewhat relevant right now because it is a central source for information that people can turn to. I'm not Facebook friends with more than 120 ppl and a lot of those people don't regularly update their status and, when they do, it's usually just how they are feeling, not breaking news information. If I really wanted to know what was going on right now, I would follow PortlandIMC through twitter or I would log onto the website.

I just think that we need to reexamine what we are doing, why we are doing it and if it is effective. I think that about the occupation though too. I biked by there today and was thrilled to see that they still had the street between Chapman Park and the other block occupied. Barricades are up and it looks very well put together. I found out later that the barricades are actually for the Portland Marathon which happens on Sunday but it still looks cool. However, all I know is that it's a bunch of people down there who want an end to debt and the 1% to stop lording over the rest of us. Um...how? I want world peace or at least an end to animal/environmental suffering but, again, how? How is camping in a park going to bring that about?

I don't know. Maybe I'm just frustrated with my inability to do anything. Shit, I couldn't even get out of my job today to come down and join but really I don't even know what I would have done down there if I was able to come down.

What else?

Although I am frustrated with a lot of things right now, I don't want anyone to think that I didn't enjoy today because I did. Capping it all off was an awesome conversation that I had with our friend Kim. She's a great source of comfort and a great listener. If nothing else, talking with her made my whole night worthwhile.

occupy portland

2011-10-06T21:59:00.001-07:00

The Occupy Portland protest happened today in conjunction with Occupy Wallstreet movement and several other cities (there's a good but not completely comprehensive list here at the Detroit site). I fully support this movement but I don't quite understand how people sitting in a park in Portland are going to eliminate debt. I guess you've got to start somewhere though and this movement has got more people talking about the financial inconsistencies. Big businesses get bailed out, get tax breaks and the people get screwed over, thrown out of their houses, laid off, and/or go hungry. It's not a clear and visible path that we're moving down, toppling the 1% that oppress the 99% but it's uplifting to see that there's movement in that direction.

What else?

The march started at 12pm. I was originally planning on taking a long lunch break and heading down there to see it. However, I was eating lunch with four of the clients, including G and W. G's girlfriend asked me when our next inservice was and, although we were all just told not to be on our phones during client breaks, I had to glance down at my phone to get the date for her. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the assistant to the president of the company do a double-take by my table. I looked up and W was flipping off the clock on the wall and the assistant was standing between him and the clock.

I immediately told him to drop his hand and he started screaming, "F*** you, you motherf***ing b****!" W has screamed before but never this long of a string of profanities and never in the presence of the assistant to the president of the company who, by all measures, actually runs the company and could fire anyone at anytime. Luckily, W is a client and he can get away with this. In a way, I'm jealous.

I did head to down to the protest right after work, experienced it for a little bit but then biked over to Seven Corners where I got new pedals for the first time. They switched it out quick and even fixed two broken spokes for me. Those people are awesome!

the old and the frail

2011-10-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

Years ago, I was discussing my fears with Jessica. I told her I was afraid of tornadoes, the Amish and old people. It was over 10 years ago and my fears have dissipated or changed now but I realize that my fears were based upon ignorance, which is usually the case. At the time, my only experience with older people came from my grandmas (who I didn't categorize as old people because I knew them as individuals and not as a generalization of the elderly) or from Abe Simpson. At the time, my grandmas were each independent enough to not fit into the elderly stereotype. I didn't even consider them old. Memories of my great grandma in the nursing home were my primary reference whenever the elderly were discussed.

Now, I have a greater comprehension of what being elderly means. I don't buy into stereotypes anymore because through my work, I've seen enough variety. Also, I've educated myself with documentaries such as Sunset Story and now with my class. We just watched a documentary called Living Dangerously about two very different elderly people, choosing different paths and dealing with different issues. It's sad because both people die at the end of the film but that's to be expected. Also, I'm learning in class that dying doesn't have to be an awful thing. Even if I don't go on to work with the elderly after this, I think that this class will be good for my overall experience with life and my own aging process.

So, boom, one fear diminished. Since I'm in Portland, I don't have to worry about tornadoes. Now if I could just find a way to protect myself from the Amish... (*kidding*)

cascade aids walk 2011

2011-10-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

It's time again for the Cascade AIDS walk. This is my fourth year organizing it through work and, like every annual event that I enjoy, I had to amp it up a bit. I had everyone wear black again this year but I also brought matching red feather boas for the dogs. We had 12 people in the photo this year and five dogs, each wearing feather boas. It looked fierce and that's what matters. ;)

We weren't the only group that brought it though. A bunch of people were dressed as various superheroes. I didn't get pictures of all of them but one lady was a nice Mystique and a guy was a body painted Green Lantern who was only really wearing his undies. It's also just a fun, festive walk. As I annually do, I went to the diabetes walk last month and it's very tame compared to the AIDS walk. We queers really liven shit up! It was a great time and I got to meet Zilla, the lil pup pictured in the last photo. She was as big as Dean's snout. She wanted to play with him badly but I was afraid he would step on her and that would have put a damper on the day.

y & the apocalypse

2011-10-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

I have got a lot to read with my latest class but what I really want to read is Y.

I've always been drawn to post-apocalypse fantasy fiction, whether it's been movies, tv shows, books or comics. It's not all great but almost always provides some interesting conundrums about how we as a society are not set up to really survive without our amenities that we take for granted. Like all of the other stories, Y has it's own version of the apocalypse where all of the men (except for one) die. It's not a sex-romp book although they do talk about it. It's really a fascinating way to look at the existing world. How do men as a gender affect society, both negatively and positively and how would the world be after a major gendercide?

Sophia's new beau bought her the first two collections of Y comics instead of flowers for a date a while ago. I think that set a new bar for others to live up to as far a geek love goes. Since then, I've read those two and started checking out others through the library. Today, book #6 came in but it did so before book #5. Therefore, I took an hour out of the afternoon and went to Powells just to read it. Normally, I would just buy it but then I would want to buy the others just to have the whole set and I spend a lot of money at Powells already so I think I'm okay with just reading without purchasing this one time. Besides, I can't help myself!

Anyway, it was awesome and afterwards I headed home and read all of book #6. Buffy did their season eight through comic form but I didn't really care for it, primarily because it paled in comparison with the TV series. Therefore, Y is probably my favorite comic series ever, followed by Walking Dead but I think I love Y a tad more. It's a lot more of an appealing apocalypse but only if Dean could survive too (like the monkey in Y). However, I don't wish all of the men on the planet dead. I'd be very sad if that happened but it'd be the preferred choice over zombie carnage or nuclear holocaust.

summary of september

2011-09-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

Alright, I give up. I am not going to catch up by posting a whole lot of individual posts. So, rather than try to catch up or skip it (like I did with my May posts which I said I would retro-post but never got around to), I've decided to do a quick summary post. So here we go:

On Sunday, September 18th, I saw the Portland Gay Men's Chorus perform for the first time after Sophia and I watched a performance by Tim at the Portland Gay in the Square Fair thing. The GMC was beautiful but I have been watching too much Glee and I wanted them to break out into an Usher number. :)

On Monday, September 19th, I bought Warm Bodies, a zombie romance book. It's my first romance book but it's about zombies so it's okay.

On Tuesday, September 20th, I went to Country Cat Dinnerhouse. It was okay but I was hoping for more vegetarian options. Also, I had my most dreaded meeting with a transgendered clients parents who were reportedly homophobic. I have heard that they've said some pretty awful stuff at meetings before but I could see them making an effort this time and I really think they're not so bad. Transgendered issues aside, their adult child has put them through a hell of a lot and they still love her enough to have her visit and come to her meetings when they don't have to.

On Wednesday, September 21st, I walked Dean to Long Haus from Muffin HQ for a Timbers game for the first time and checked out a Zipcar to take him back. It's only about 2.5 miles but 5 miles round-trip would have been too much for him. It was cute because Ashes was playing soccer at the park on the way so I let Dean off-leash to run up to him. Dean got to him before I made it there and made Ashes wonder where the hell he came from.

On Thursday, September 22nd, my allergies came back and kicked my ass. For comfort, I turned to Mira's Ladle for the first time. It's a soup cart on Hawthorne that I've walked by a lot. I loved it and I'll definitely come back for more. Mmmmm, vegan chili.

On Saturday, September 24th, I BlowPony'd! I went dancing with Erin again and her friend, other Lindsey for the first time. Ashes, Victory and Melissa were also there. Our friend Nikki was dancing on stage (pictured in the far left above crouched down). It was so great. I LOVE dancing and nothing feels better to me. I had a few drinks but I don't think I got stupid. I was hungry by the time I left though so I grabbed a late nite snack at Zach's. I love that place. It was a great night!

On Sunday, September 25th, we had another comic book/mimosa day. I LOVE these days. Also, I tried Darling Violetta's black bean burger for the first time. It was okay but not as good as their fries.

On Monday, September 26th, I went into Clever Cycles for the first time, looking for bicycling chaps. They don't carry them but I may end up coming back sometime down the road to look for a good cargo bike in which I can haul Dean. Sophia and I also went to the Sweet Hereafter where the food is awesome and the staff is all hot, tattooed guys! Love it!

On Tuesday, September 27th, some random dudes yelled "Queer" at me on Belmont. I wasn't queered up but I think they were just using it as a slang against cyclists. Anyway, it still sucked so I indulged in vegan gelato, a mimosa and Glee to make me feel better.

On Wednesday, September 28th, I had my first class of this school year. I'm only taking one night class and it's on Social Work with Frail Older Adults. It definitely applies to the population I work with as some of the clients are over retirement age and several of them qualify as frail. The teacher seems very knowledgeable and quite funny which will be good since it's not exactly light material. Also I got my haircut at Bishops by a new person. I like to add that in so it will be easy for me to see when I got my last haircut by just doing a blog search for Bishops.

On Thursday, September 29th, I threatened to quit my job. I don't think I've done it in a serious manner like this before. I threaten to quit all of the time, like when the cafeteria goes two days in a row without having a vegetarian soup. However, this time I was serious. The co-worker who replaced my friend started asking me about one of their clients, G, who is one of my favorite people to work with. Her line of questioning led me to believe that she was building a case to exit this guy. I told her if he gets exited, I'll quit. She assured me that she wasn't considering exiting him but I still left my threat out there. At this point, school has begun again and it'll be a lot of reading. Work is overwhelming because I'm having to cover for someone on medical leave so I'm doing a lot of bathroom breaks. I'm just looking for a reason to quit but really, I can't lose anyone else I care about at work. Also, I had a date with Andrew in the evening.

On Friday, September 30th, I went to Alessio Italian Bakery which is right near Cellar Door Coffee by my work. It's cheap and I'll probably go back soon. I also had the Vegan Curry Plate at Bonfire with Jessica for the first time. Yum! I've found a reason to renew my love of Bonfire! However, my night didn't stop there. I rode NE to Alberta with Ashes and Victory in his new car and Jesse, Sophia, Ashes, Victory and I all went for a drink at the Horse's Brass which should be my neighborhood bar but I never go there.

Anyway, that's my September in a long nutshell. I use this blog as a journal for myself so I do want to keep it up but I'll try to make my posts more interesting to read in the future. Even with school starting, I need to allow myself to creatively write and not just recap my days. I'll try to do better next month

are you employed, mr lebowski?

2011-09-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today, Sophia and I had our first Comics & Mimosas day. We called it 'Funemployment Fantasy Camp' where we sat around the house and did nothing but eat here and there, drink mimosas and read comics, primarily 'The Walking Dead' and 'Y, the Last Man' but I also finished World War Z. It was wonderful as this whole day was. The return of the rain really made the day just feel right.

We did help a person move their belongings into our garage so she can head off to Yoga school but that was about as productive as we got. As if that wasn't indulgent enough, there was a Big Lebowski Night at Grand Central Bowl on Belmont so we decided to go. We each put on boxers, undershirts, sandals, sunglasses and our bathrobes and got on the bus. It was fun but it would have been a little more fun if the bar wasn't so bad. It's called Grand Central BOWL but bowling is more of an afterthought there. It's a lot more of a club with bowling as an ironic feature. The night included a strip tease, pictured above. Anyhow, it was my first time there, my first time getting on the bus in my undies and my first Comics and Mimosas day. Hurray!

What else?
I glossed over a lot of the rest of the week because it either wasn't terribly exciting or I didn't have a good picture or both.

On Thursday, the power went out at Muffin HQ for my first blackout here. I handled it appropriately...by going to Zach's Shack and drinking margaritas and reading my book.

On Friday, I went to Blitz with Victory to watch the soccer game while Ashes actually got to go to the game. It was fun to watch the game there with just me and her but it was nice to be able to talk because her girl cat Fabreeshka passed away this week. It was expected but still very hard to deal with. I can't imagine what I'll do when I have to face that day with...yep, I can't even type it. I know I'll be a complete wreck.

under the influence

2011-09-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

Andrew and I have been seeing each other since April. While we only usually see each other every other week, it is still a type of relationship, although I hesitate to use that word. However, I guess I could view it from the stance that I would even have a relationship with the bar guy who likes my book (World War Z) at Zach's Shack or with the lady who works at the coffee cart down the way from my work. Still, this relationship that we have, whatever that may be, has had an influence on me.

I'm constantly giving his media recommendations a try and this weekend, I bought some latex pillows because I really like the ones he bought in the spring. These pillows have been awesome too, giving me two solid nights worth of rest over the last two days. This morning, I tried the beverage pictured above from his recommendation. It looks like a Session beer bottle but it's cold coffee. Normally, I hate cold coffee but this stuff is really really good. And tonight, because he was talking about it, I ordered a 'Death in the Afternoon' at Vintage (with Jennifer and Sophia) which was pretty damn awesome too.

So, I don't really know where this is going. We talked about camping last month but last week he told me he was going camping in early October. Maybe I should invest a little more in this...whatever it is.

bar carlo

2011-09-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

Nothing extraordinary to report today. I went to a new-to-me brunch place today, Bar Carlo. It had a lot of seating, plenty of vegan options and no wait so it was a good find. Sophia and I also went to Super 8 at the Bagdad and I picked up some new latex pillows. Go Sunday!

long distance uncling

2011-09-10T10:01:00.000-07:00

When I decided to move up to Portland years ago, I knew I had to do it but one of the hardest things was knowing that I wouldn't be able to see my niece Hayleigh very often. At the time, she was six years old. Sometime soon afterwards, she wrote a short little story in school about how if she was the state of Kansas, she would move to Oregon because then she could be near me. It was very touching but ultimately Portland was the right place for me and I couldn't convince my sister to visit, let alone move up here.

Tonight, I was checking my facebook feed when I saw that Hayleigh posted that nobody has ever had a worse kid than her and that she was so stupid. I wasn't sure what it was in reference to but then I saw my sister had posted something right before that, stating that she was sure she left the car that she owned in the driveway...

Anyway, I wrote to my niece and told her that it probably wasn't as bad as it seems and plenty of people were worse and did stupider things at the age 15, like her mom and other uncle but not me. ;) Honestly though, after working with homeless youth, I have seen and heard enough stories to make me see my niece as a little saint. And please, even I rolled the car at age 16. Hayleigh managed to return the car in one operating piece so she's a step ahead of me.

It felt good to be able to be there for her even it was just through facebook. But, after all, she is the reason I am even on facebook in the first place so I'm glad it could be used as a tool for good.

What else?

Sophia, Dean and I walked around the Belmont Street Fair and I bought a little kid's shirt from a vendor for Mr Whiskers! I hope it fits him! Also, when we were walking by a booth selling lawn ornaments, Dean stopped to relieve himself on the merchandise. I yanked him away and Sophia quickly threw water over the items to wash it off. The vendor was cool though and didn't make us pay for it.

I also went on the Diabetes walk again for work. Dave, who organizes it just told me about it on Thursday but he always goes on the AIDS walk so I agreed to go with him. It was okay but not very well organized. Still, I'm glad I could support him.

'that's how you do it'

2011-09-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

Today, my new thing was buying tix to ZomBcon in Seattle. I've contemplated going but wasn't sure until I saw the tickets go on sale today and thought, "What the hell. Why not?"

However, the most consuming part of the day was the video posted above. I LOVE it!

buffy the hamburger slayer

2011-09-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

Andrew and I went to Hamburger Mary's for the first time for each of us today. It was fabulous. I guess it's sort of a chain but very limited in the number of restaurants they have around the country. I've heard that all of the staff is drag queens which isn't true but I'd venture a guess that all of the staff tonight was gay. The idea of a gay restaurant chain is pretty awesome to me too. It's a fabulous place and I'd love to hit another city and find out they had a Hamburger Mary's too.

For food, it was pretty meat-centric but they have a homemade black bean patty which is huge and a vegan patty as options. Also, their toppings are what make each burger unique and can be done vegetarian for the most part. I had the black bean burger with the Buffy the Hamburger Slayer options which included red wine sauce, garlic cloves, swiss cheese and caesar dressing. It was wonderful and so was my sparkling cosmo! The atmosphere was fun and gay and there was a drag queen there calling out bingo numbers as a fund-raiser for the Oregon Humane Society (as if I didn't already love the place enough)! I'm shocked it took me this long to come here considering it's downtown. I plan to come back when they have Mary-O-ke because a gay restaurant that serves a Buffy burger AND has karaoke simply cannot be missed!

my new favorite movie

2011-09-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

I absolutely LOVED Rise of the Planet of the Apes! As an animal rights activist and a misanthrope, this should come as no surprise. However, the remake of the original with Mark Walhberg and my love Helena Bonham Carter sucked so bad, I was hesitant walking into this one. I found myself actually cheering during the movie this time! Go apes!!!

What else?
My new thing was trying the raw butternut squash ravioli at Kitchen Dances. It was okay but I think I'll stick to their Reuben or quesadilla.

drinking buddies

2011-09-06T22:50:00.000-07:00

I have been drinking way too much lately. I'll drink casually with friends on occasion but it seems like there's been a lot of occasions lately. Several years ago, a friend was prepping several of us for a protest and challenged us to stop drinking for a month in order to be physically ready for it. I can't remember what protest it was or if physical readiness was even necessary but I do remember that the not-drinking part felt great and was relatively easy if those in your immediate surroundings were doing the same thing. Maybe it's time for that again.

Anyhow, tonight's new thing was drinking some new bourbon at Romtom's and having two new slices at Sizzle Pie. Also, I hung out socially with Aleesha which I haven't done outside of the country fair before.

bike the butte & the bridge

2011-09-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

Today's and yesterday's new things are similar enough that I figured I can put them into one post. My new thing was getting on my bike and just riding.

Yesterday, I was waiting at the Long Haus for a BBQ and then I just got an itch and couldn't wait anymore. Instead I got on my bike and rode to Powell Butte for the first time. It's right off of the Springwater Corridor so it kind of just happened that I rode there. I was really just riding the corridor just to ride. It's Labor Day weekend after all. I should be able to do silly things just for the fun of it.

Today, I was having a drink or two with friends at 442 and I got the itch again. It was almost painful to just sit around on a beautiful day off like today so I again got on my bike and rode. I ended up heading downtown this time with the intention of heading to Forest Park. Instead, I meandered until I found myself on St Helen's Road, heading towards the St Johns Bridge. The ramp up to the bridge wasn't a wide lane so I went on the sidewalk instead, lost control slightly and ended up scraping against the rough wall along the sidewalk. Fortunately, my glove and my handlebar took most of it but I did scrape up my pinkie and my arm pretty good. It stings but it looks tough. The view from the top of the bridge was pretty but the injury hindered my enjoyment of the ride.

What else?

I took Dean to the Rocking Frog for the first time. I've been here in it's previous incarnations but never with Dean although Dean did just come here on Saturday with Sophia and Tim. I had work to do and I wanted to do it outside with Dean while drinking coffee somewhere that had good wireless. Rocking Frog's back porch fit the bill. I will be back!

hanging in the couv

2011-09-03T23:12:00.000-07:00

You know what I've never said before on a weekend, "Let's go hang out in Vancouver...Washington!" Well, there's a first for everything.

Bastard is in town so we all went to Beaches, a margarita bar on the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington to hang out. It was nice and easy and relaxing. Several fu-fu drinks were bought by all. Afterwards, we headed back to Portland and all hit Zach's Shack (pictured above). Below are some more pics of the 'Couv.

topher darling's day off

2011-09-01T22:25:00.000-07:00

I took today as a sick day. I don't really know if I was starting to come down with something, if my allergies were coming back with a vengeance or if I was just sick of work. Either way, I still felt good enough to go hang out with Ashes and Victory and to go to my first Timbers Reserve game. It was pretty fun even though it wasn't a truly pro game. I did get to do the Tetris cheer though for the first time. This involved a whole section of people singing the theme song from Tetris while bouncing up and down, first to the the right and then back to the left. It was fun but tiring. I am sick after all. ;)

What else?
I'm not sure if my phone hardware or software developed a problem but it stopped being able to read my finger scroll and began actually just reading out loud whatever my finger was touching. I hate technology sometimes.

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

2011-08-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

This neighborhood in which I live feels more like a neighborhood than any other place I've lived in since I was a kid. In western Nebraska, the towns were all too small. In college, I wasn't really comfortable enough with people to be neighborly. In my apartment here, I didn't like my neighbors at all. In my last house, the neighbor were fine but the location didn't lend itself to a neighborhood feel. It was nice being at the end of a dead-end street but it meant a lot of people didn't pass by and, if they did, they were transitory people temporarily living in the apartments next door. Here, there's something lovely and peaceful about the neighborhood but also busy. It's kind of perfect.

Since I got my hammock, I've been all about the back porch of the house. Today, I moved to the front and got some front porch furniture so I could see more of the neighbors and feel more like part of the neigborhood. Jess and I walked around the Hawthorne St Fair after I got helped my hangover via brunch at big Jam. At the street fair, we found Rubber Redone where I saw some furniture made from recycled tires that I kind of love. After riding through the Sunday Parkways and watching a band perform at the neighbors, I took Dean back to the Fair where I bought the furniture. They delivered it later on. Originally, I thought it'd be too big for the front porch so I was going to move it out back but it fits perfect. Yay!

dancing my blues away

2011-08-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

A while ago at work, we had a class on the grieving process. During this class, the idea was put forth that grieving wasn't just reserved for death but also for loss. This could mean loss of a friendship, house or job, etc. I think that's what I've been going through. My friend's firing at work was sudden, like a death and it totally rocked my world, like a death would. Looking at it from that perspective helps me understand my emotions but I also realize that it isn't a death and it doesn't have to be an ending but it could be a beginning. He's an awesomely smart and charismatic guy and I'm sure that he'll end up finding a job that pays more.

While it did shake up my future plans at work, it also presented me with opportunities. I was willing to stay at the company for an indefinite amount of time because he was there too. However, with him gone, I'm free to go when my obligation with schooling is done. My work closed a door for me so now I'm bailing out the window.

I did call my boss this morning to make sure that she knows I'm not quitting. I love my clients and I would hate to not get to see them anymore. I'm not happy with the agency but that doesn't change the fact that I'd still do everything and anything to help the clients.

What else?

Since my future plans at work have changed, I felt more comfortable with letting loose with some of my co-workers. Tonight, I met two of them at Blowpony and we danced a whole lot. I got more drinks spilled on me than ever before and my co-worker Erin pulled me up on stage at Blowpony for the first time. I really don't remember any of the songs that we danced to but I know that I enjoyed myself.

the day I fell out of love with my job

2011-08-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

At my work, they just fired my best friend. I don't know what the hell I'm going to do.

There was always a plan for him and me to take over eventually. Ever since I've known him, we've both worked for the same company, in different stores and different departments at times but we've both been there, working for the same 'man.' Now, I don't know if I can be there anymore. I don't even know if I'm wanted there anymore. I don't know for sure why they fired him so I don't know if they'll come for me next. Maybe I'm hoping they will.

At any rate, my new thing today was cleaning out my desk at work. I'm not quitting right now but I do want to be prepared. Right after they told us all he was fired (at 3:15pm on a Friday), they continued to say that we're all expendable and the company will go on without us. Wow, thanks.

tasting the rainbow

2011-08-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

Today I ate a f'ing unicorn. I love Portland.

There's a vegan cart here that not only serves fake meat but they serve the fake meat of fake animals. They have a fake unicorn, mock loch ness monster and faux BBQ griffin. The beauty of this is that you can put together an outstanding flavor combination without having to try to make it bear a resemblance to an actual animal. It can just taste good and not necessarily like chicken.

I was satisfied with the unicorn. It wasn't what I was expecting but then again, I was expecting something utterly bizarre like deep-fried skittles mixed with pop-rocks. Maybe THAT'S what unicorn tastes like...

What else?
Truth be told, I back-date all of these entries unless I'm really on top of my game. Right now, I'm about two weeks behind and it's been a pretty important (but busy) two weeks so I want to post but it may take me a bit. I'm also going to skip the mundane days. Yesterday (Wednesday 8/24/11) was nice but I don't have a good pic so I'll just write that I went to the Sapphire Bar for the first time because it's supposed to be romantic. It wasn't but Andrew and I still had a good date. We're thinking of going camping together soon. Fancy that...

go wildcats

2011-08-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

Every other year, I arrange a big tour of work clients to PGE park or, as it is now named, Jeld-Wen Stadium. Since we went pro, tours are a little more difficult to arrange but I was persistent and the tour department at the stadium was kind enough to give us the school rate since we are a non-profit. A lot of the clients said they enjoyed it but reallly, the tour was for Ashes and me. We were like kids at Disneyland when we saw the players practicing and Coach Spencer!

It was a lot of fun for everyone though, especially since we took the work bus. We have a relatively new short-bus, similar to the Tri-Met lift buses for work usage. One of my clients is in a wheelchair and I typically can't transport her myself since our other vehicles aren't equipped to handle a wheelchair. However, we took the bus out for the first time and she was able to participate without feeling like an outsider or an exception.

My other favorite part of the tour was when our tour guide said he was a Beavers fan. One of the clients promptly puffs up his chest and says, "Well, I'm a Ducks fan." Then, another new client says, "I like the Wildcats." The tour guide asked who the wildcats are and the client turned around and showed the guide his backpack which was cute, pink and black and from High School Musical. Too damn adorable!

What else?
I started another alias tonight. I think I just have too much time on my hands. I'm not going to promote it here and it's primarily used for a social-networking site. It's mainly a venue for me to express my creativity elsewhere.

the other guy

2011-08-21T23:29:00.000-07:00

New guy (Travis) tonight at a new place (Muu Muus). He was nice but he's not...I don't know...right. Immediately after our date, I thought about texting Andrew to see if he wanted to go out this week. Tonight's guy, Travis, is only a year older than me and has a dog whom his world centers around. He's almost vegetarian. That's two big positives but it just wasn't clicking. Maybe it will later if we go out again but I'm not probably going to make that effort.

I don't even see Andrew that much because I don't have a lot of free time for dating. Why the hell did I think that I needed to start dating someone else? Maybe I was looking for something super-casual or for cherub's singing and an instant connection. It was a good experience though because it made me appreciate the chillness of what I've got and who I am.

preparing for 90

2011-08-20T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today was the hottest day of the year so far in Portland. I think it may have gotten to 90. One of my co-workers is originally from Oklahoma and said that it got to be around 115 degrees there. That's insane. I complained today that it was too hot and Ashes, Victory, Raven and I all headed out to Oneanta Gorge to save ourselves.

It was awesome! I love the hike in there with the log jam and the deep pools in the cavern. It was too deep in parts for most people to touch the bottom and they had swim it. Raven and I tried to climb the rock walls over the deepest pool but you could only go so far so I gave up and dove in. Ashes said that I let out the loudest, highest pitch scream that the Gorge has ever heard because it was damn cold. I also lost my sandal. I started looking around the bottom for it, dreading the seemingly inevitable dive to the bottom to look for it. Fortunately, it floats and some guy down the way found it for me.

What else?

On our way back from the Gorge, we stopped by Ashes' parents' house where Raven showed me his treehouse there. He and his cousins hang out in there and have even slept in there. It reminded me of the fort that my sister, my cousins and I had at my grandparents' farm. While I was back in Alaska, my aunt, uncle, dad and one of my cousins reminisced with me about the fort. My cousin Tesha reminded me how I pulled a dead chicken out of the bare-bones spring mattress that we wanted to use for our fort. As a reward, they made me a certificate for doing the deed.

It was nice seeing Ashes' parents again. Since I moved out of the house, I don't get to see them very often. While we were there, his mom had us move a treadmill from downstairs to the garage. I was happy to do it just because they're good people.

And...

I also went to 442, Portland's best soccer bar to watch the Timbers game. We won and it's an awesome bar with great atmosphere. I think we'll be watching games there from now on.

Afterwards, I went to see TrollHunter with Dominic, Jesse, Sophia and her friends. I've been wanting to see it for a while and I think I let my expectations get too high. Still, it was pretty cool.

Overall, just a stellar day!!!

tired of new cameras

2011-08-19T23:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend at Alaska, my camera pretty much gave up. It sucked because I know I would have taken more and better pictures if it had kept working. It didn't travel well in my bag and the preview button became jammed into the case. It also started doing the zoom/shut-off twitch that it did at Bagby. I had a little extra time at work today so I searched for good camera reviews. I ended up deciding on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H70. It was cheaper than my last camera and since I seem to go through them every few years, I thought cheaper was the better way to go. Ashes was headed to Jantzen Beach anyway and the Best Buy had one of these cameras in stock so I went ahead and bought it, while talking my way into all applicable on-line discounts.

This camera has a few features in it that my last one was missing, like good night shooting capabilities. Before my camera before my last one crapped out, I took some good night shots with it so I am happy to have that capability in my hands again. Plus it can do panoramic photos. I'm thinking of investing in the $50 2 year insurance plan which covers everything but submersion since I know how brutal I can be to cameras, especially when I take them with me wherever I go.