it's all greek to me

I confronted a church lady on her religion's homophobia today.  That was fun...

I love Greek food so I was looking forward to going to the Greek Fest in Portland today when Sophia suggested it.  However, an hour before we were going to go, she called me, saying she was unsure about this Greek Orthodox Church's stance on homosexuality.  As a larger institution, they don't like us but I thought that maybe the Portland version would be different.  St. James Church on SE 12 and Stark is very progressive for a Catholic Church so I thought that maybe there was hope for this Greek Orthodox Church.  However, I wasn't going to just assume that so I directly asked.

Upon getting to the festival which took place on the grounds just outside the church, I approached a lady with a name-tag on who was handing out literature for the church.  I flat out asked her, "What is the church's stance on gays?"  She stuttered for a bit but then told me, "It's not a bigot thing but..."  I can't remember the exact wording but it went something like this.  'It's all adultery in the eyes of the lord [even tho it's not possible for me to get married in the eyes of the church] and that's a sin.  Any sex outside of marriage is a sin.  Worshiping sex is like worshiping a false idol, like the technology we use.  I-pods, cell phones, etc.'

I've been called many things as an out[spoken] queer but an I-pod is not one of them.  Sophia thought it was a diplomatic answer although agreed that it was cop-out.  I wasn't feeling any hate though there and I did want to try some food while I was there so I stuck around for a bit.  Really, it wasn't worth it, even aside from the unspoken homophobia.  The food was borderline carnival food.  I've had much much better bakalava and it was really crowded.  I'm glad I went to just say I went and to be able to put it out there that this festival is linked to unconfronted hate.  Most people would say just relax, it's not like they're burning crosses.  However, over the past few weeks, there's been a number of queer youth suicides in the news.  Part of that is due to guilt brought on by religious institutions.  It's hard to overlook that.

What else?
I called Martin and Tim from the Fest and wanted to hang with some of my community so we went to Hall of Records which used to be half of It's a Beautiful Pizza.  It was my first time there and I was impressed.  Their niche is that they sell records and you can sign up for 30 minutes of DJ'ing at the bar.  I will probably be posting that as a new thing soon. 

Speaking of pizza, I went to a place tonight where many Portlanders think you can get the best pizza in town, Apizza Scholls.  Known for it's long waits and awesome food, I don't know how I've not gone there until today.  Sophia and I met Jesse, Jake and Gail there.  They were all sweet enough to do the waiting for us.  We had a pizza with truffle oil base and another pizza with jalapeno's on it.  The truffle oil pizza could be a contender for the best pizza I've had here in town.  I think I'll give it another try before I make my decision though. 

food bike cart

Sometimes I just don't get it if the universe is trying to give me a message.   Recently, my food donation partner has been inviting someone else (who has a station wagon) along because there's enough food and she has a family to feed.  Also, I've given up doing the clothing donations because of school obligations.  And I'm in the process of getting rid of my car.  The main thing holding me back is the food donations.  Today, the rest of my house needed the car so I didn't have access to the car at the time I needed it.  All of this should have made me realize that it wasn't meant to be anymore and I should just give up the food donations.  I'm not saying I'm rich or anything but I do have the money to buy groceries now.  When I started doing the food donations, it was because I took a job that paid a lot less and I was determined to make it work.  Well, it did and I should move on.  But no, I did it on bike.

The bike cart hasn't fulfilled it's function of being a form of transport for Dean.  Dean's actually gotten better and doesn't really need to be pulled around in a cart.  So I used it today for food.  We still used my partner's friend's station wagon but I hauled my own personal box in my bike cart.  I don't know if that's what we'll be doing from now on but it worked for today.  Plus it was a beautiful sunny day out.  Maybe, in that respect, the universe was telling me to go for it but to go by bike.

What else?

After 16 years, It's a Beautiful Pizza had it's last day today.  A crowd of us went there tonite for one last slice.  I have a lot of good memories from the place and it's been an active activist place for many years, hosting shows, speaking engagements, meetings and video showings.  Their atmosphere was great, the location was ideal, the pizza could be good (especially when you special ordered a slice or pizza) but I guess it just wasn't making money.  It's been a food staple of mine for a while now, an option that's always out there.  It'll be missed.

being a people person

I often talk about how easy my job is.  Today will not be one of those days.  While it wasn't easy, I do think I made it look that way.

I had two separate clients have two unrelated melt-downs today. I've dealt with the male client today with this same issue. His current staff members haven't experienced it before. Basically, he's developing behavior problems and we don't know where his outbursts are coming from. He's cited dreams, family, stress, work and various other issues being responsible for him just freaking out during the day and screaming. It breaks my heart but it doesn't surprise me anymore. I was able to approach him calmly and directly and at least get him to a manageable state.

The other client who had a hard day today was devastated because her "boyfriend" (a former supervisor that she has a crush on) hasn't been in to the store and she's convinced that some other staff member has his phone number.  I had to have a frank talk with her to let her know that, no, we don't have the number and really, he was just a friend, not her boyfriend.  It took a long time but it seemed to finally become a truth for her.  Then I had to deal with the fact that she felt worthless because she didn't have a boyfriend.  Here's where I took a page from the book of Sophia and told her that she can be a strong independent woman and she doesn't need a boyfriend to give her life meaning.  I stressed the other relationships (primarily friendships) in her life and told her that they were significant and meant that she was loved.  I also simplified things and said, "I don't have a girlfriend and I'm happy."  I think it worked because she began smiling afterwards and was able to go back to work.

I got a lot of kudos for the work I did today and it felt like it was especially important work.  I get so caught up in just going through the motions of my job and shuffling paperwork around that I rarely get the opportunity to have meaningful interactions with my clients.

What else?
Sophia and I checked out Circa 33 today (pictured above).  It was awesome.  It used to be half It's a Beautiful Pizza.  The other half is taken up by Hall of Records.   They fixed the acoustics problem that IBP had and I believe they also lowered their price, making it downright affordable.  I had two Yorkshire Toddy's which were made with Earl Grey Tea and maple syrup instead of honey.  I also had one of the most fabulous veggie "burgers" in Portland, the lentil and mushroom burger.  I will most definitely be going back, especially since it will be in my new hood!

next door

I go to It's a Beautiful Pizza a LOT. I used to go there more. However, I had never ventured right next door until today. It's crazy to think how much is right under our noses that we don't know about. My office is near an industrial area. I bet they make all sorts of cool shit around there but I'm not sure what because I never check it out. That's why I like this blog. It gets me to places I wouldn't have bothered with before.

Today, my new thing was going to the Aalto Lounge. It's not amazing or anything but it was something different. My friend Sarah from 'Braska and her husband were there with her brother-in-law and his girlfriend and I met them there. It was really great seeing Sarah and Lane again and meeting her brother-in-law Ryan and...goddammit...I am horrible at names. Sarah, if you're read this, please refresh my memory. Anyway, they live in SE and go to a lot of the same places I do. It was great meeting them.

And they were here all along, right around the corner.

labor day love

Three years ago on Labor Day, I got in the worst bike accident I've been in. I don't really remember Labor Day 2013 (that's why I started blogging again) but last year's was rough for reasons I won't go into here. However, I've come a long way in a year and this was the best Labor Day weekend I've had in a while.

On Friday, Andrew and I met with some friends to celebrate our friend Jason's birthday at Prettyman's General which was unique and fun. I like the fact that their "coffee tables" are really just blocks of wood which they can manipulate to figure all sorts of pertinent designs. Also, they have cocktails on tap and they were pretty tasty.

On Saturday, I saw Avengers 2 with Ashes. I thought it was fun but I was also on a THC lozenge. Afterwards, Andrew and I walked up to 82nd to try Stein Haus which had a nice selection of German beers on tap and a great back patio. We also tried Canton Grill in order to find a suitable Chinese restaurant near us. I think it will do.

On Sunday, I didn't do too much but we did walk to Division for pizza and ended up at Lauretta Jeans later for dessert. I tried this Jamesons and ice cream concoction which was way too strong.

On Monday, we walked to Toast where I tried this onion tart thing. We also biked up to Marine Drive. It was a beautiful day for a ride and it's been too long since we've gone for a notable bike ride. I really need to get Ava a cart so we can take day-long rides.

So it was nothing monumental but it was all pleasant. Next weekend, Andrew's going to be out of town and then we'll only have another weekend together until I leave for Nebraska for a month so I'm really happy that we could have a relaxed and loving weekend together (with no major bike accidents).

50 mile road

Happy easter. Andrew and I celebrated the holiday by biking to Oxbow Park. I've never really appreciated this park before but biking to it makes you realize how close in and far out it truly is. It's amazing that this beautiful expanse which contains some of the last old growth resides shortly outside of Gresham.

All and all, it was about 50 miles ride + hike. In heading down into the park, we were rewarded by a tremendous downhill. While I loved the ease of it, I knew right away that I wasn't going to bike back up it. Instead, I suggested to Andrew that we hike up a quick path with our bikes to cut through back to the start.

Well, what goes down must go up. The path may have not been that long but it hiked up a steep hill/mountain. In retrospect, it probably would have been a lot more efficient just to walk our bikes back up the road. However we did get to immerse ourselves in some beautiful woods.

The ride back was nice too. We cut back through a shorter way, hitting Division and then later Stark. To top the night off, we went to Flying Pie Pizza. It made for a wonderfully, well-deserved meal. Best easter in a long while.

What else?
I was able to do the ride today because I spent yesterday in a ridiculous cleaning mode in preparation for Sophia to get home. I think I did an awesome job, being more thorough than I have since moving in last year.