looking forward

I've been in a rut for a bit. That's part of my excuse for not updating my blog. The rut mainly consists of school and work and the rainy weather. However, we had a semi-dry weekend, I'm skipping school this week to watch the election coverage and I got caught up on my work last Thursday so here's a blog update.

Today, I had a great day, working out in the morning, getting a latte around noon at Powells while I read the latest Walking Dead comic, walking around the hood with Arturo and eating vegan milkshakes at Dick's. I also booked the Gearharts beach house for Christmas with Andrew since I'm not going back to Nebraska until my new nephew's born in January. The beach house is what I'm going to be the light at the end of this school quarter's tunnel.

What else?
I thought about going back to update October but for the most part, my new things consisted of new foods or new experiences at my internship. Here are the exceptions and/or the things that stood out.

On Saturday, October 6th, I went to the last night of the PLGFF in which they showed Cloudburst, a lesbian road trip movie with Olympia Dukakis. I can't recommend it enough. Afterwards, Andrew and I went to the afterparty at Crush which was fun but I liked the kickoff party better.

On Sunday the 7th, I watched the Timbers game at Long Haus on a projector in the back porch which has been nicely redone. Also, I joined Bastard and MLE at Ship's Ahoy afterwards for birthday drinks and good conversation.

On Wednesday the 10th, I woke up to the sound of scratching in the drywall behind my bed.

On Thursday the 11th, I met a new guy, the exterminator named Jason.

On Friday the 12th, Xbox and I had a great conversation about the house. Also, I went to see Margaret Cho who awesome as were her opening acts. So so so funny. I also went to Bare Bones bar with Jen, Ashes and Victory and later Justin and MLE. While we were there, we saw Chris Chandler from OCF. When I stopped him to tell him how much V and I enjoyed his library show at the last fair, he sat down with us and chatted for a while.

On Saturday the 13th, Andrew and I went to Brews for New Avenues. My old internship is really good at fundraising and they almost always incorporate booze into it. :)

On Sunday the 14th, I went to the Walking Dead season premiere at the Academy with Jen. It's a series that's really meant to be seen in the theater! Andrew and I also gave Dean a bath!

On Monday the 15th, I downloaded LibreOffice, a freeware version of Micro-shaft. I like it a lot more and I won't go back.

On Saturday the 20th, I took the day to work on my first paper for the term. I finished it in good time. Sophia made vegan chili so we ate that all day and, after I finished my paper, we played a new game which ended up being a D&D game. Yes, I have crossed that threshold.

On Sunday the 21st, Andrew and I went to see Blood Simple, the Cohen Bros first movie. It was great! We also went to Pastrygirl, the bakery/coffeeshop for the first time.

On Thursday the 25th, I biked to Clackamas for work for the first time since my accident (where the top pic comes from).

On Saturday the 27th, I DJ'ed Ashes' 33rd bday party. Since it was his 33rd, it was a Jesus/religious theme. I went as Lot's Wife (a salt shaker). I was one of only four or five people in costume but I still had fun.

On Sunday the 28th, Andrew and I went bar-hopping up Belmont during the afternoon, lightly drinking and snacking while playing cards. We ended up at Hob Nob Grille for the first time where I taught Andrew how to play Backgammon...and he beat me two times. It was also the 10th anniversary of my coming out. 10 years ago, my friend Joe directly asked me if I was gay and he was the first person I said yes to.

On Halloween, I didn't do a thing except go out to eat with Andrew. I really feel that I failed Halloween this year.

On Friday the 2nd, Ashes and I walked to a client's home on NW 23rd as part of my internship. I love working in the same building with him and getting to do breaks together. It was a lovely day for a walk too!

On Saturday the 3rd, Andrew and I went to the Republic downtown where I ordered a new dish. He's never been there and I haven't been there for years. We also went to Seven Psychopaths which sucked so hard.

And that's it. I'll try to update more often and to take more pictures.

the romantic in me

A few months ago, I got an e-mail from PSU, saying they were selling discounted tickets to Cirque Du Soleil's Ovo. Going to Cirque Du Soleil has been an item on my to-do list ever since I first heard about them years ago so I decided I would go ahead and get two tickets...in the front row!

It just so happens that I got them for today on the one year anniversary of me and Andrew's first date. It was AMAZING. It's kind of like how I just didn't even bother putting it into words when I saw the ocean for the first time. It's just an event that's hard to describe. However, I'll give it some effort. The costumes immediately caught my eye as amazing. Bugs were the theme for Ovo and bugs never looked so fabulous. The athleticism was equally astounding and it was funny too. After the show, they set off a few air cannons filled with butterfly confetti. I felt a youthful bliss as I reached out and plucked a few of the yellow and orange and gold paper butterflies drifting in front of me.

He leaves town tomorrow for a couple of days so we lucked out that he didn't leave today. I had a Country Fair meeting in the afternoon but I proudly declared that I would be leaving early to celebrate my one year anniversary and I did. We took the MAX out there which made it pretty stress-free. Also, they prohibited photography (which they announced after I got the above picture) so I was able just to sit there without worrying about getting the perfect shot. Afterwards, we took Dean out to Circa 33. It was pretty much the perfect weekend.

Below are some publicity pictures from my favorite parts of the show. The Grasshopper/rock wall was outstanding!

too much variety with too little show

Scott, a co-worker of mine, and his band hosted a variety show tonight at the Mt Tabor theater. It was fun and it definitely delivered on the variety. He put out a Craigslist ad for acts to perform and left it really open to interpretation as to what a "performance" would entail. Some acts were dreadfully bad. Some, however, were spectacular. Molly Bang was fun and good as they have been in the past when I've seen them. There was one stand-up comedian who was pretty funny but my favorite act of the night was a poet called Mike McGee. He commanded attention and lived up to his end of the deal by bringing a wonderfully funny and passionate performance.

Another co-worker Tyler was supposed to go on later but ended up getting pushed to the end of the night at which point he just wanted to get it over with. I hope I can see him sometime later when he's more jazzed for his performance. At any rate, tonight was entertaining if not a bit too long.

What else?
Sophia gave me some instruction on how to change a bike tire today. I had a flat last night so today we stopped at Seven Corners to get a tube. I'm so slow at changing tires but I typically don't do it properly with tire levers. I think I understand it a little better now. However, the patch I put on didn't work because after the show, the tire was flat again. I'm a bit nervous too because tomorrow is the Tweed Ride and tire problems always come in sets of three for me. 

bikecraft 2011

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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.

playing doctor

I have no idea what's wrong with me.  I have Kaiser for medical insurance so I'm left to guess on my own as their 'You're probably fine' diagnosis is no help whatsoever.

I took the day off today for a sick day since I'm in a fair amount of pain.  My whole chest, my triceps and my pelvic region all ache like I've been sunburnt or cut by cat scratches.  I've also developed a rash which leads me to believe that it's allergies and not just flu body aches as Kaiser suggested.  The only thing I could think that I may be allergic to that is new in my life is the laundry fabric softener that I decided to try since I have to babysit my laundry now.  Now, I've got to re-wash everything that I washed before.  Ugh, what a hassle and I'm not even sure that the fabric softener is the problem but I have to try something.

What else?
I saw this awesome art piece at Fat Straw today as I was trying to make myself feel better by getting some bubble tea.  I inquired about the cost but the cashier's didn't know and told me to come back when the manager is there.  It would look great in my bedroom!

For my new thing, I tried the Aybla Mediterranean Cart nearby.  The falafel sandwich will definitely bring me back.

trading amanda

Today's new thing was simple and fun and I need to do it more often.  My co-worker and I were talking about the musical artists that we're into right now.  I told her about Amanda Palmer and she told me that she's into Animal Prufrock (formerly of Bitch and Animal).  We swapped IPhones so we could listen to each other's ITunes.  I'm going to bring her 'Who Killed Amanda Palmer' on a flash drive tomorrow and she's going to bring me Animal's record.  I love not only working with someone who has such similar tastes in music but also getting a sample of her musical library so easily.

What else?
I had my fourth (I think) date with Andrew.  Things are nice and easy without any pressures.  I can dig this.

Happy birthday, Dad.  It'd difficult to think of my Dad as being old as the calendar says he is.  He still seems much more youthful.  Hopefully those good genes will see me to a relatively healthy older age.

the travel bug

A few weeks ago, I was looking for new desktop wallpaper for my internship computer.  I came across the picture at the bottom of this post and decided that was what I wanted.  Maybe it's the lack of sun here right now but I want to go to somewhere where it's warm, where I can relax and where I can walk out onto a pier and just lose myself in the beauty.

Arturo just got back from visiting his fam in Cali for a few months.  He's here for just a week and then he's going camping in the jungles of Mexico.  Yes, I'm jealous.  I am a homebody but I've got this strong desire to go somewhere far away that I have never seen before and just relax.

We went out to eat and drink tonight along with BHT who spent most of last year traveling throughout the US in his pickup.  His journey was more soul-searching but he still got out there and travelled somewhat aimlessly and got to see the world.  I'm heading to Nebraska later on this month and then my only other travel plans involve going to Alaska in August for my cousin's wedding.  I think I'm going to need to fit something tropical in there.

What else?
We went to Dick's where I tried a BBQ tempeh burger there for the 1st time.  We also went to Hall of Records and chilled out on the couch.  Before heading to the Backstage Bar to finish out the night, we crashed an art opening at Gallery Zero (for the 1st time).  We figured it would be neat to see the art but we were also counting on free wine.  I had some pear wine which was awesome.  It was a fun night but it doesn't satisfy my need to get out of the region for warmer weather.

alternative notion

I didn't have regular MTV access until I started at McCook Community College.  This may seem like a trite thing but to someone who didn't like country music or the country lifestyle, this was a big handicap.  I longed to know what the rest of the world was doing and did not trust basic cable to tell me. 

During my second year in McCook, I met my friend Nate who wooed me with his CD collection.  I was a sponge, ready to absorb it all.  I quickly came to love Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins as well as many many more.  I was able to pass the music onto my brother who was also experiencing musical and cultural isolation in our little town.  As technology improved over the 5 years that separates us, I did think he was better off though.  Anyway, Eric told me to listen to all of Siamese Dream.  I had the CD and loved it but I didn't really appreciate it until he brought it to my attention.  Now Smashing Pumpkins remains one of my favorite bands (although I believe they are a shell of themselves without D'Arcy or James Iha).

After Justin and Dom each sang Pearl Jam songs last night, I couldn't get them out of my head today.  I pulled out all of my old Pearl Jam CDs and put them on my I-Tunes.  I then got all of my Pumpkins CDs and so on and so forth.  It was great.  I forgot to mention that I bought a new I-pod on Friday and was able to put on four times as much music and it was all Alternative all day today.  I've become a pop music junkie lately so it was refreshing to listen to good quality music.  I may be on this phase for a while.

What else?
I did a lot of biking around today (listening to my alternative mix), stopping in at a plethora of athletic and mountain stores, looking for a late bday gift for Ashes but to no avail.  I suppose I'll just wait until Seven Corners opens up again on Tuesday and buy it then. 

going for the green

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

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

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

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

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

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

do-over

Today was the cherry on top.  Last year, I loved Fair but felt like I was robbed after Saturday when it started to rain.  This was my first chance to experience a true full Fair Sunday.  I did a lot of walking and took in a lot of shows with friends who were visiting Fair for the day.  My favorite show of the day though was one I saw alone, Girl Circus which was just adorable and very well done.

Exhaustion hit by the end of the day.  I think I fractured my little toe last week and it began to really ache today from too much walking.  I miss my bike...and my dog.  I love it here but it's about time to wake up.

What else?
Chris Chandler, Girl Circus (3 pics), Wanderlust Circus (2 pics), belly dancers and me pictured below.

risk of change

Today was another great day for compliments on my outfit.  However, the greatest compliment came by coincidence when an art troupe, Risk of Change, paraded by and told me to join them.

Honestly, today's outfit was filler.  When I was laying out my clothing for Fair, I decided that I would just do an all-black-and-white day.  Fortunately, I did in on the same day as Risk of Change.  I had just gotten out of a show (Kazum pictured below) when Risk of Change came parading by us.  One of the troupe told me that I belonged with them so I left my crew I was with and abandoned all other plans and jumped in with them.  While taking pics, I heard a few people surprised at my appearance, saying things like, "Was that guy with us at the beginning?" but I ran into several members later and was told, "We'll never forget you."  I know I'll never forget the spontaneity of it.

What else?
When I was working at the booth, two random ladies came by and asked to get their picture with me.  High compliments indeed.

I also saw a number of new acts. They're pictured below in the following order; Grandmother Agnes Baker Pilgrim, Kazum (3 pics), Jason Webley, Yes Sweet Can (2 pics) and NANDA again.

my fair routine

Today, the familiarity of the functions of the Fair allowed me to access as many acts as possible.  My morning routine consists of me walking into the fair from camp, hitting the Ritz, grabbing coffee on my walk back to camp, adding a splash of amaretto, making an awesome egg sandwich and going back into the fair to 'work' at our booth for two hours.  I put work in quotation marks because, compared with work outside of the fair, this is easy and joyful.

I love Community Village.  The above pic is part of the opening ceremony where we honor those who have passed since last fair by placing a piece of paper with the their name on it on this little tree.  However, it's not just Community Village work at Fair which is enjoyable.  Half of our camp does security work and I've heard that they love it too.

I did some security work today too just because Friday night is hard at the gate where most of our camp is stationed.  There's a fire show outside of the gate which attempts to draw people out of the fair at closing time.  However, when the show is over, the gate is swarmed with day-pass people trying to get back in for the nighttime festivities.  I helped out tonight and so did several other workers who weren't on shift right then.  I heard from a lot of the security regulars that it was one of the best Friday night Fair security experiences they've ever had.  It's nice when Fair family can help out.  I think I'll add this Friday security gig into my regular fair routine.

What else?
I saw many new acts today!  However, the one that blew me away was the last picture, NANDA.

1st thursday

I took art classes all throughout high school.  My art teacher was very supportive although I really don't think I had a lot of talent.  It was still fun and it gave me a good creative outlet.

Today, I struggle with finding art unpretentious.  I find a lot of art amazing but a lot of artists and art aficionados annoying.  I think a lot of that is insecurities regarding my own creativity combined with the idea that art does hardly anything to advance the well-being of the oppressed and the planet.  That being said, once I feel comfortable with artists, I adore them.

Al's work is a good example of what can be oh-so-right with art.  His imagery conveys a very distinct, strong political message, even though it may leave a little open to interpretation.  I headed down to Autonomy tonight for First Thursday.  I've only been down to First Thursday once or twice before.  I went through a lot of galleries today and almost bought a bike shirt at one place but then I realized that I could make it.  It was a simple design and I've done screen printing.  I wouldn't use the same design because it's someone else's and it wasn't that great.  I may have to creative soon and print.

my friend moby

Today went just like I thought it should.

Moby, a musical artist I've admired for many many years now was speaking at Powells books today about veganism.  The name of the book is Gristle and some of you can plan to see it in the future because I'll be sending it to you.  It's not a "Go vegan or die" book.  It comes at it from more of a "Look at the consequences of the meat diet" approach.

After having good workout and an awesome breakfast burrito, I biked down to see him speak.  I got there two hours early in order to get a front row seat.  It was an easy Saturday so sitting around in a bookstore for a few hours seemed perfectly logical.

Normally, I don't like seeing people I idolize.  I was afraid that Moby would be a dick or something but he was quite cool.  During the Q&A session, I asked him about the Disco Lies video which is a favorite of mine.  He looked right at me when he answered the question like we were having a conversation.  :)  Plus I got him to sign my book, "DJ Topher."  That's right. Moby acknowledged me as a DJ.  I should have had it signed "Awesome DJ Topher" but I thought that would've been too egotistical.  Anyway, he thanked me for the question and said I could get a picture with him.  Finally, a personal hero that lived up to my expectations.

What else/
While waiting for Moby, I finished "The Art of Racing in the Rain," a book about a dog and his owner.  It was really touching and I had really work to not cry in Powells.

As if the day wasn't good enough, I went out that night.  First I stopped at Galaxy with my house, Dom, Emily, BHT, Justin, Jenn and Christina.  I sang "No Scrubs."  Then I headed off to Blowpony.  It has been far too long since I've been to a Pony and this one reminded me of the first one I went to.  Good times.

port city

This is my life now.  I work in social work services, I go to school for social work services and now, I spend my Friday evenings going to hear about social work services.

Helping people with developmental disabilities is something that I am very interested in.  To paraphrase the military, it's more than a career.  Port City was having art showing and speaker tonight.  Port City runs a program that I am really interested in, Project Grow.  Project Grow is their Alternative To Employment but they don't do what we do at my work.  They garden, they raise goats and chickens and do great art projects.  It's pretty amazing.

I want my work's program to do better.  I've made no secret to my boss that I want to eventually be running that department.  When it's mine someday, I will use Port City as an example to gradually build up our program.

Also at tonight's event, there was a speaker from a self advocacy group for people with developmental disabilities.  It was great to hear someone speak up for themselves and declare what they want and how others can help them.  They also had a panel discussion about services for people with DD need improvement.

It's great to see these agencies in place and it's cool that people are questioning the existing systems.

prince albert, the mighty cock

Above is a picture of the Lord Humongous's cock, Prince Albert.  Hee-hee.

It was my friend Michael's b-day party today.  He has chickens, specifically a rooster named Albert, Prince of the Coop.  Michael went to OCF with us and adopted the name the Lord Humongous from Mad Max.  Therefore I'm able to start my blog post off like that.  :)

I went to get Michael a card today at Presents of Mind on Hawthorne and found a girl selling paintings on wood blocks on the sidewalk outside.  She just happened to have several portraits of chickens and she was travelling from New York (and started her journey with just 13 cents and a bucket of paints) so I had to buy one.  Michael is very proud of his chickens and it just worked really nice like.  I love it when things fall into an unexpected but brilliant togetherness like that.

quasi-art

 

 

  

I think that my musical taste has gone awry.  When I see bands like Quasi, I have to stop and think, "Why don't I listen to more bands like this more often?"  I've been cheap and lazy, getting any new music ideas from casual internet searches, radio paradise or the clubs.

Needless to say, I loved this show.  It was too short but it was good.  The show took place in an abandoned school in the middle of Portland.  What does Portland do with old, empty schools?  They start serving drinks!  I've never really been into the art scene but I did enjoy this Time-Based Art exhibit.  Besides the show, they did a light show on the outside of the building and had several art exhibits instead.  Being at a music show at an abandoned building with drinks being served reminded me a little of the Kopi in Europe.  It was cool that it happened in my town.  Now if I could just get better schooled in local music, maybe I'd appreciate it even more.