cinema done right

Last weekend, we were looking for a movie to go to and saw that Tarantino's new film 'The Hateful Eight' was playing at the Hollywood. When we got there, we saw there was already a line and apparently it was a line for people with tickets already. The show was sold out for a number of showings throughout the week already so I bought tickets online for tonight.

We got there an hour early and stood in line for a while before we were let in from the cold. It ended up setting the tone nicely for the film which takes place during a Wyoming blizzard. The film had a 4-5 minute long overture before it and a 12 minute intermission built into the film. The intermission worked well with the action and the pacing and it helped with the movie-going experience. I took the picture above as the guy was introducing the film. Apparently, Tarantino had stopped in a few days before to introduce the film and praised the Hollywood Theater, which has the biggest screen capable of showing 70 mm films. If I'm going to go out to the theater, this is how it should be done.

What else?

We maxxed, walked, and then bussed to Victory's NYE party but didn't stay until midnight because we didn't want to leave Ava in the kennel that long. We had a nice brisk walk back to the house afterwards as well. It was a nice and chill way to spend the holiday.

neighborly

I'm heading back to Nebraska for at least two weeks tomorrow. It's been busy at work getting everything done but I also feel a great sense of accomplishment in leaving my affairs in such good order and getting a lot of October's work done ahead of time. I would have left Friday night or Saturday morning but since Andrew was gone last weekend, I wanted us to have a weekend together before we left. Also, I wanted to go to my neighbor's neighborhood party.

There are very few A) parties that I want to go to, B) parties that I want to go to where I don't know that many people, and c) parties that I want to go to where I don't know that many people and I would postpone a trip to attend. However, I want to know my neighbors better and this is a great way to do it. It worked out like I thought it would. People came in, introduced themselves or reintroduced themselves, stated where they lived, and we talked about how great the neighborhood is. I may have overstepped some social graces and asked a neighbor about who owns the house vs who lives in it but I had a few too many glasses of wine and I had lost all of the fucks I had to give. It's okay. I'm sure worse was said.

So now I can head out tomorrow morning. I haven't packed Ava's stuff yet but I don't want to rile her up too early. I'm looking forward to this greatly but I will miss Andrew, Maria, and this charming neighborhood.

making circles

As I may have mentioned before, I don't like house parties. House parties where I know all of three people and the only dog is locked in the basement are even worse. However, I found myself enjoying this party.

Our friends Yvonne and Terri had a party tonight along with another couple to celebrate their anniversaries. I like Yvonne and Terri a lot so I was willing to go to the party. Their cake toppers pictured above are testaments to how simpatico we are. Initially, I was uncomfortably clinging to Andrew who also didn't know a lot of people there. Little by little, we integrated into the party and I ended up producing an ice-breaker and forming a little circle of people to talk to and smoke pot with. Andrew also found some others to talk to and we rejoined later with a larger pool of people to hang out with. I was pretty proud of myself for breaking out of my comfort zones although I think I may have spent too much time talking about Ava.

What else?

On Thursday, August 20th, I brought Ava  to work and I got food to go (for the first time) from Pho Gia and we ate outside which turns out to be an ideal environment for Ava.

On Friday, I got the cheese plate at NWIPA which hit the spot after a long work day and full gym workout.

pdx lesbian & gay film fest '12

This evening, I went to the opening night of the Portland Lesbian and Gay Film Fest. It's always been of interest to me but never enough to get me there. Andrew's friend is a driving force behind the FF so she got us full-access passes. We went tonight to see Gayby, the movie about a gay guy who likes comic books who lives with a straight girl who does bikram yoga. It's a strangely familiar setting.

Anyway, the movie was HILARIOUS and then we went to the opening night party which was fabulous! We met the director of one of the films and a couple who is driving from Edmonton, Canada to Hondurus. They happened to stop through Portland tonight with a craving for a movie. They saw the marquee pictured above and they were welcomed with open arms. The whole party felt very classy but yet comfortable. I just probably shouldn't have had as much vodka as I did.

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.

celebration of sophia

 Last year for Sophia's birthday, I was in Alaska. This year, I wanted to help her celebrate. Sophia and I originally bonded over how much we can't stand to make a fuss on our birthdays. Well, that was many years ago and I'd like to think we've grown since then. Today, I helped her celebrate her birthday properly, with wine, pizza and cupcakes.

She chose to go to Apizza Scholls for her birthday celebration. We did it smart and sent a scout (me) there early to get our name on the list so all nine of us didn't have to wait for an hour in the lobby area. After I got our name on the list, I presented Sophia with 18 cute little cupcakes from Saint Cupcake. It's a great alternative to one large cake.

Anyway, my new thing was buying those and trying the Tartufo with mushrooms AND ricotta. The waitress talked us into the ricotta although I feel it was unnecessary. It's an awesome pie with just the mushrooms.

What else?
I left my bike gloves at Jade the other day but they were so beaten up that I wanted to replace them anyway so I got a new pair at Seven Corners. I'm writing this so A) I can reference it later to see how long a pair of gloves lasts me and B) Corey mentioned how long I had been coming to the shop (9 years). It's nice to feel appreciated and nice that he remembers. 

back to vancouver

Today was the hottest day of the year so far and at the hottest point of the day, I found myself on the I205 bridge again biking over to Vancouver. Andrew has two friends, Yvonne and Terri in the Couv and they wanted to have us over for a BBQ so I agreed although I tried to get out of it yesterday when I realized how hot is was going to be. But then Sophia told me about a trick that involved soaking a light long sleeve shirt in cold water and putting it on right before I went. After that, I felt a lot more comfortable.

Yvonne and Terri were great people to spend the day with and it really helped that they had two wonderfully funny dogs, Cali and Coco. Coco is the beautiful lab/chow mix pictured above. The best part of the day for me was tossing a tennis ball to Coco, trying to make it into the kiddie pool that was set up for her. Andrew tossed it over the pool once and Cali walked back to us thru the pool but then decided to stop and squat in the pool to pee. I laughed soooooooo hard.

What else?
Yesterday, we went to Tim's house for his birthday party where my new thing was meeting some of his friends for the first time, although I primarily stuck with my crew.

the way it should be

 Today exemplified how well things have been going lately. I was able to spend time with Dean, get some housework done, have a long lunch with Andrew (my 1st salad at Oasis Pizza), bake some more chocolate cookies and then bike to Jen's house with Andrew for her 33rd birthday party. After the funeral last week, I really started to have a longing to see my friends more in more positive contexts. I wish I could have seen more people but it was still wonderful to see Jen, Donald, Nikki, Eric, Destonie, Bastard, Jesse, Lori Ann, Melissa, Nathanial, Ashes, Sophia, Xbox, and more. I also met some new people (but I'm horrible with names). And along with Jen's birthday, we were all able to celebrate the fact that Bastard just got offered a clerkship in Portland and Ashes is starting county job soon! It's been a tumultuous year for too many of my friends so I'm glad to see things work out for the better and I'm glad to see them under such celebratory circumstances.

What else?
Last Tuesday, our HR director sent out modifications to the dress code, saying that we could no longer wear t-shirts on "casual Friday" but we had to wear golf shirts or oxford shirts. I love my t-shirts and one of my career goals is to work somewhere that will allow me to wear t-shirts all of the time so we're going in the wrong direction here. However, at our Wednesday meeting, my boss was wearing a knit top without a collar when she was reviewing the changes in the dress code which now calls for a "business casual Friday." Someone curiously (not insubordinately) questioned what she was wearing and how it fit into the dress code. She then said we could wear t-shirts, just not thin white ones. She added that we should avoid hot pinks and yellows because we wouldn't want to draw attention to ourselves. Confused over what I should wear today, I just decided to stay at home on a sick day.

On Wednesday, July 25th, my new thing was trying the veggie reuben at Eastside Deli. It had peppers in it which made it too spicy.

On Thursday, July 26th, I took charge of our sheltered workshop clients at work for the day. Also, afterwards, Erin, Tim, Scott, Leah, Andrew, Ashes, and I went to Roadside Attraction for Happy Hour where some asswipe stole my solar-powered bike light. :( Also, Andrew and I tried the Pad Thai Kitchen for the first time.

let's just bike naked

I bike a lot and I go on a lot of group themed rides where costume is highly encouraged. However, my favorite ride has to be this one where costumes and clothing in general is discouraged.

They are estimating that over 10,000 people. I don't think it was as big as the one in 2010 but it was close and it was bigger than last year. However, I think we were more spread out as I observed that Jesse and I were the some of only people in the immediate area when people were taking pictures. Oh well, I guess I knew the risks when I took off the uniform.

What else?

After the ride, Jesse and I went to Blow Pony. It was a typical Pony except they have the back parking lot open as a dance floor for the June Pony. Out there, Jesse and I dance in the light rain to "Starships" among other remixed songs. It was an awesome way to end an awesome night!

what matters

Last month, a young man was shot due to racism and fear. Thanks to social and independent media, the event has made nationwide headlines and won't go away until answers are given. Today, Portland held it's own rally, discussing the racism involved in the situation and to mourn Trayvon Martin.

Ashes, Victory, Andrew, Dean and I went up to Peninsula Park this morning for the rally. There was a decent amount of people there but, as always, I'm surprised by who wasn't there. I'm surprised that more people in the social work field or school program weren't there. I'm surprised that more of my friends weren't there. I guess I just expect more out of people. However, there are probably many events that I don't attend for one reason or another so I shouldn't get judge-y. I am really glad that Andrew agreed to go with me. If he had said no, I would have accepted it but it would have been a mark against him. It's just that important to me that people stand in support of those organizing events like this even if there was a bit too much religiosity for me.

What else?
We met later for a Timbers game at Blitz and then I biked around for a bit. I went to Hollywood Vintage for the first time to check out their tweed in anticipation of the ride soon.

It was also BlowPony night!! I love love love dancing and Matt Bearaccuda was DJ'ing. I haven't gone to the Bearaccuda dance night before but I definitely will now since I know he'll be there. Erin brought her friend and her boyfriend and his friend. I also hung out with Tim and his friends. I danced long and hard, outlasting all of my friends. I really needed that!

Also, I forgot to note that yesterday I went to the Grilled Cheese Bus on Ankney for the first time and also Stacato Gelato. I thought each was okay but I'm just thankful that I got the bus out of my system. It's been on my to-do list for far too long.

J512

Last night was J512. I'm updating it today because my new thing was lasting way past midnight. I DJ'ed three different sets tonight. I did a chill one to intro Jen on her first DJ gig. After Jen, I did my pre-planned dance one. Joe Ball's set followed afterwards and then Ashes gave it a go for a while. He had to step out for a bit so I stepped in and kept it going until late. Around 2:30am, I found the crowd's groove and kept them dancing until 4am when Ashes had to tell me to stop because it was late and people needed to go home. Ashes. Had to tell me. To stop. That's sooooooo weird. Normally, I'm the one who calls it a night first.

A couple of things really worked for me that were missing from last year's party. First off, Andrew was at this one. It was his first J-party and it was really nice to have someone there for me. Also, having other people DJ was really great. Last year, I played longer but not later and it was worse. Next, the setup in the house was better in that the DJ station was in the living room and not the garage.

Next year, I would love it to be at an actual venue. I LOVE playing for people and I would love to have more space to get more people dancing. Oh well, I'm just grateful for all that was awesome about tonight.

36

It's my birthday (weekend). It's been an awesome year for me and that's good because this birthday was mediocre. I had my eight hour class on my actual birthday which ended up bumming me out more than I thought it would. The next day was Andrew's birthday which I was more than happy to celebrate with him. I met some of his friends at a party that they were throwing for him and a friend visiting from out of town.

Tonight, I messaged Justin to see if he wanted to go to Zach's. Justin was with Jennifer and Justin also texted Sophia who was with Jesse and she texted Xbox so we all met at Zach's Shack which was delightful and then Gulya happened to walk in. What a nice easy gathering of folk! Sophia, Xbox and Jesse later sang my happy birthday as we split my minicake. It was a charming way to end a quiet birthday weekend

give a girl a pony

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.

release the krakken

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.

dj tophurious

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.

testing...one...two

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.

my favorite party

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. :)

shonen knife!

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.

halloween 2011

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

 

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!