a decade passed

A lot can happen in ten years. Ten years ago, I pulled into Portland with a carload of items and checked into the Economy Motel on Interstate Ave. I was unsure what I was going to do but I knew I was going to make it here even though I didn't have friends, family, a job, a house, money, or even my dog with me.

Now, I'm celebrating with my good friends outside of my home in the street with my dog. I love it when a plan comes together.

I can't say that I always knew that I would make it but I have to say that I was determined. There are many roads, many choices, many chances, and many instances of good fortune that have led me to where I'm at now. This is the reason that I don't believe in regret.If I had made some different choices along they way like coming out of the closet sooner or getting out of Nebraska sooner, my life would be a lot different and I wouldn't want that. I love everything about right now. Well, maybe I would have gone a little slower down that hill last Monday and not wrecked my bike but live and learn.

I'd like to think that I made more positive steps today. Not only did I have a handful of my good friends over to the house today to celebrate my 10 years in Portland but it was also our block party day. Over five years ago, I came to Sophia's first block party here. Last year, there really wasn't a party so I was excited to see that we were having one this year. Chad, one of the neighbors across the street was organizing it. There are two couples across the street who I had never really been introduced to before today but I recognize from seeing them around every single day. Today, I made some cookies for the party and went and introduced myself. I talked to Shannon and Casey for quite a while. I also talked to Matt from down the street and Robert who lives directly across from me. I love this neighborhood and I've only met the neighbors who border us before today. Now it feels more like a community. Now I can wave politely or greet my neighbors with some familiarity without there being this awkwardness of not having been properly introduced. Now, I feel more at home.

Also, Dean was quite at home laying in the middle of the street that was blocked off as long as his bed was there and people were sitting around him. He's so adorable.

What else?
Andrew and I headed to the Belmont Street Fair with Dean today and I bought a tshirt with the design below which I love. It's available at lonelydinosaur.com.

the bitter end at the beginning

Today was the Timber's first regular game of the season and it's a home game. Ashes got a ticket to go so Victory and I went to watch the game at the Bitter End (for my first time there). The Bitter End is within two blocks of the stadium so a good number of people were packed into the bar up until the national anthem was playing. Then they headed over to the stadium.

It's a nice place although the vegetarian options are very limited. Still, it was a rainy rainy day and being inside where a veggie burger and a beer doesn't cost $20 and I can be dry was really pleasant. Also, the game rocked! Philadelphia scored the first point but we answered it with not one, not two but three goals! Boyd, our new hottie from Scottie, had an awesome header. Kalif Alhassan set it up for him and also ended up scoring the last goal. I'm hoping that we're going to be a better team this year. I'll watch either way though.

Also, Ashes told me where I could buy a soccer scarf. I've been eyeing the Republic of Cascadia scarf for weeks now and right after the game, I ran over to the truck where they were selling them and bought one!  Whoo hoo!

What else?
On Friday, I bussed out to Jen's for the first time to watch Paranormal Activity 3. It's nice that it's just one quick bus trip from my house to her's. Then I bussed it back down to the Laurelhurst Theater where Dom, his friend, Jesse, Sophia, XBox and I went to Flash Gordon. I'm a bit surprised by this but I don't think I've ever seen the film all the way through.

On Saturday, Andrew and I brunched, went shopping at Saturday Market where I bought a wrist band and then we went to the Red and Black to play Battle-Line. I love that game and I love hiding from the rain in a friendly cafe with Andrew. Afterwards we went Roadside Attraction for drinks and then Bonfire for food. Such a simple lazy day.

maiden voyage

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

 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.

discontent is the first necessity of progress

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.

my great pumpkin

 

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!

fair thee well

 

Today was wonderful. Going into fair, I was planning on wearing my pink clothes on Thursday because I wasn't that excited about the outfit. Then I discovered these hotpants! Whenever I stopped to have someone take a picture of me with my cell-phone so I could update my facebook, I had other random people snap shots of me. I was also walking down through the fair with friends when the dragon came parading by. A hot guy in a kilt told me that I was definitely wearing a parade outfit so I needed to join them. I danced along with the parade and absolutely loved it.

Sunday is typically a fun day because it's the day that we get visitor passes so our friends show up. This year, Jesse, Gail and Tim all came down. They seemed to enjoy it and I loved taking them around. I love seeing Jason Webley on Sunday too. Today, he did a cover of Piano Man called "Accordian Man." He pulled up people to represent each of the characters in the song. My favorite was "John at the bar" who's quick with a joke. His joke was, "So, this baby seal walks into a club..."  He later on inspired a parade of accordian players and enthusiasts to take over the drum tower!

Later on, Victory and I went to Webley's 11pm show at Shady Grove. It was my first show in the 8 at night. Webley is an awesome storyteller but he's had a rough year and is taking time off from touring. He says at least a year. It'll be sad not to have him at the fair tomorrow but it was beautiful to be able to attend his late night show at OCF.

fairly fashionably forward

I don't come to Country Fair just to have people tell me how much they like my outfits but, man, that is a big perk! I got sooooo many compliments on my ensemble today! It was wonderful. At the end of the day, I was leaving the fair area (which is called the 8 because of its shape) and a lady came up to me and said, "Oh good, I'm glad I got to see you again. I just wanted to tell you that I saw you earlier today and I've seen most everybody else here and you by far have the hottest outfit of the day." Suddenly, I'm on cloud 9.

What else?

 My new thing today was meeting Trystan, the newest addition to our camp at Far Side at the fair. Trystan is Dave and Sarah's lil guy and is absolutely adorable. I love babies!

skirting the issue

In my mind, I'm already at country fair. I have to go to work tomorrow but today I'm doing my laundry and packing for fair. I bought a straw cowboy hat and some pink and leopard print sunglasses for fair. Since my mind is already there, I decided to let my legs be there as well and put on a skirt while I do laundry. I seriously hate modern societal conventions that prevent men from wearing skirts. The Romans were really onto something with their openness about male & male sexuality and their permissive attitudes regarding skirts. Besides the fact that they're cuter than pants, it's just damn comfortable.

What else?
Today's a holiday but I couldn't care less. Actually, that's a lie. I do care in that I hate it. The 4th is now my least favorite holiday, replacing Valentines Day because at least people aren't as loud with their stupidity on V-day. Dean comes from hunting parents who I'm sure were acclimated to loud noises which he has apparently inherited. The fireworks bother me a lot more than they bother him.

simple saturday satisfactions

Today was simply wonderful for no reason.  Maybe it was wonderful because it lacked reason and simply was...

I had a few things that I wanted to accomplish today but nothing too pressing.  One of the things on my list today was to buy a new wallet to replace the one I lost last week.  I went back to Herbivore because I love their wallet selection and I really wanted to buy something vegan.  Yesterday, one of the store managers at my work was randomly talking to me about wallets and about how, when you get older, it becomes more of an impairment to have a thick wallet in your back pocket.  It's bad for your spine, etc.  However, as I recently discovered, having a wallet in your back pocket can also easily lead to losing it while biking.  At Herbivore, they had this handy thing pictured above.  Yes, it is putting all of my eggs in one basket but if my wallet can hold my phone, I can put it in my front pocket where I put my phone.  It will take a little getting used to but I think it'll be something I can roll with.

I also went to Panera Cares Community Cafe which is right next to my local Trader Joes.  First off, the bike ride to Trader Joes from Muffin HQ is wonderful in that it's all back streets but all of the streets are designated biking roads.  Also, the cafe is just awesome.  They have prices listed like a typical cafe would but the prices are just the suggested donation price.  The mission of the cafe is that anyone should be able to get a meal that needs one.  If you can pay the suggested price, then you do so.  If you can pay a little more, then you can do that as well which will help keep the place operating when people come in that can't afford to pay.  Sophia heard that 25% of people pay less than the asking price, 50% pay the asking price and 25% pay more so it ends up being sustainable.  I love this idea and the Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich was wonderful!

Another awesome and new thing today was that Bob's Red Mill recognized me for checking in to the Mill several times on foursquare by sending me free food.  They contacted me a few weeks ago, finding my facebook account since you can't communicate really through foursquare and said they wanted to give me free new products as a sign of appreciation for visiting the mill so many times.  Today, I got in two packages of couscous and two packages of granola.  Hells yeah.
 
What else?
I ended the awesome day by singing karaoke with Dominic, Ashes and Victory.  For the first time, I sang 'Peaches' by the Presidents of the USA.  I also made my second attempt at singing Love Cats by the Cure.  Dominic first had me sing this song years ago as a scaraoke.  I had never heard the song before so I sang it like Frank Sinatra.  I'm still not that familiar with the song but I was a lot more comfortable and think I handled it pretty well.

custom-made customer

At bikecraft, I found Double Darn.  I had already bought a hat from another vendor there and then I stumbled upon Double Darn's booth and was more drawn to a black hat they had.  However, I didn't have the cash then so I didn't buy it.  They have a shop in NE Alberta so I thought I would just head up there and get it when I had the cash.  That was back in December.  At the end of last month, I finally made it up there only to discover that Double Darn had moved locations to Hawthorne.

Last week, I went there and ordered a custom-made hat since they didn't have the black one in stock and none of the others fit me right.  This one is perfect.  Plus the seamstress used hot pink thread at my request and now the hat is definitely tailor made for me.

clothing, cars and class

My class started up again today.  I'll only have two big papers this quarter.  While it should be easy, I think I may have to drop the clothing donations again.  We switched the drop-off location and I had car problems with the zip car (you have to unlock it with the car before it'll start, FYI).  It's just getting frustrating and it's not paying off.  I do like the clothing but I like simplifying my life even more.

showing my show

I could never wear a uniform.  I love changing up my clothing periodically.  Styles, colors and levels of formality have to vary day to day or I get in a slump.  Part of this need to switch it up is seeing what appeals to different people.  I'm a sucker for a compliment on my attire.

I decided to dress it up just a bit today even though fair doesn't technically start until tomorrow.  When else am I gonna have the opportunity to wear a short pink skirt and thigh high pink striped socks in the woods?

I got soooooo many compliments between the skirt and the socks.  The veggie dog cart guys hooted at me and asked me to 'show 'em my show.'  It seemed like I got a compliment every twenty feet or so.  That made my day!

What else?

This morning, I went to the Ritz for the first time ever.  The Ritz is a large shower/sauna facility at the fair.  Beautifully crafted with wood and no ceiling (except for in the saunas), it's well worth the six dollars for an unlimited visit.  It costs more if you want a private shower but that's just silly to me.  It's the same principle as the WNBR.  If everybody's naked and cool with it, nobody's judging anyone else and everyone gets to feel comfortable.

accessorizing my rights

I've had a tumultuous relationship with hats. I can never find the right one. I've never tried on a hat and thought, "That's perfect for me." At least not until today. I found a great hat at Saturday Market. On Friday, I got my hair cut and realized that I am going to burn my scalp a lot in the sun if I don't start wearing a hat. And ta-da, I found one today at Saturday Market!

On Friday, I also lost my bracelet that I bought at OCF last year and I've felt naked since. I went to a couple different shops at Saturday Market today and was pretty disappointed. I found a decent bracelet at one shop for a good price and the guy custom made it to fit me so that was pretty cool and a first for me.

I hate buying brand new stuff but I love me some good accessories!

the night the lights went out in portland

I think it's the soap opera influence but I've always been keen on disasters. I don't want anybody hurt but I love something that shakes things up, especially when it used to get me out of school/church/work. Portland's weather is so damn mellow that any little shakeup is a welcome change of pace.

Tonight, the lights went out in whole neighborhoods. Street lights, businesses, residences and street signals all lost power for an indefinite amount of time. It wasn't a blanket blackout and it fortunately didn't last for more than a night but it was pretty damn sweet seeing a busy street like Hawthorne completely dark. I was picking up clothing donations at the time and the store went dark with very very minimal window lighting. I was prepared though as I had my headlamp for my bike in my pocket. I'm always ready for a little chaos.

second hand heaven

When I was going to college, I used to scan the Friday newspapers and set up a route of the garage sales I wanted to hit. When I moved to Portland, I was shopping at the retro-stores at least weekly. Then, when I got a job at a thrift store, my wardrobe started to really expand. Now that I do the clothing donations, it's hard for me to actually purchase clothes. However, I could drop a lot of money at my new place for today (and actually leave with a lot of stuff).

Today, I went to the House of Vintage on Hawthorne. My housemates wanted to go to a nearby shop for a Halloween costume and the HOV had clothes out front so I went to check it out. Then I stepped inside and went through one room and another and another and another... The place just keeps on going! And they don't have all of their men's clothes together and all of their furniture together. Each room is like a cool garage sale of it's own. It was more enticing that way to keep wandering. I saw some clothes there with a mark from the thrift store I work at. The HOV only had the item marked up one dollar. The stuff there was relatively cheap, especially for Hawthorne. If there was one store I'd love to locked in at, it's this place.

suit up

I can get snazzy when I want to. Today, one of my participants was being recognized as Worker of the Quarter so I had to bring him to a board meeting. I had heard we had a board room at work but I didn't even know where it was. Damn, it is NICE! Walking in, I started to question how we can call ourselves a non-profit but then they showed a compilation of news stories about the company and we came off very charitable. But for a 501 C3 charitable organization, they can get pretty snazzy too when they want.

bumming around

When I first got to Portland, I was very empathetic to the homeless here to the point where I once gave away my bus money everything I had including my bus money and had to walk home to southeast Portland from Downtown.

I realized that I was ‘fitting in’ more when the ‘spangers’ (people looking for spare change) stopped asking for money from me and started asking for cigarettes. I didn’t ever get to the point where other people would give me money though…until yesterday.

I was sorting the donated clothing with a friend. Normally we would sort it in a van but the van wasn’t there. I pulled my car over across the street from a church where the light is better. Then we took the garbage sacks of clothing out of the car and began to sort them in the street. A car drove past us and pulled into the church parking lot. Nobody got out and it backed up towards us. I figured it was someone wondering what we were doing or someone looking for directions. Instead, the driver called my friend over and handed her $18. My friend asked what it was for and she was told to “Just take it,” with pity and sympathy in the driver’s voice. So she did. Before we could say anymore, the car drove off. I asked my friend why she gave us $18 and she said, “Look at us.” We were on the side of the street, garbage bags filling up the car and spilling into the street across from a church. “We look pretty bad.”

nothing nice to say

So I shouldn’t be saying anything at all. I am not angry anymore but I didn’t do a lot today. Idon’t have anything naughty or nice today. I made the dress I free-boxed a while ago into an apron but I couldn’t get a good picture of that and I like this picture better so here we are.

This is a hose-holder for a friend’s garden. Cute.

clark kent camouflage

I feel phony at work sometimes, like I am playing the part of someone who should be in my position. I think a lot of it has to do with my clothes. We have a 'casual' day at work on Fridays but every other day is business 'casual.' I usually wear short sleeve button up shirts and slacks which I feel do not represent me at all.

I was a little more dressed up today because I had to go to the YWCA (for the first time) for a quarterly provider meeting (whatever that's supposed to mean). With my glasses on, I really felt like I was wearing a disguise, like Clark Kent except I'm not Superman. When I left my meeting, I spent sometime looking for a phone booth to take a picture in but I didn't have any luck finding one. I need to start wearing tights underneath my clothes just in case I happen to stumble upon one.