It's my 500th post. I wanted to do something special. I was going to roadtrip. Then I thought I'd just go for a massage or spa treatment. I also thought about getting another tattoo. In the end, I laid in flowers.
I went to take Dean for a walk and decided to take Raven and Sydney with me. The kids had been attached to a video game for the better part of an evening so it was a good opportunity for us all to get out. We went to Reed College just to stroll around the campus but ended up playing in a tall growth of weeds and wild flowers, all of which were beyond soft. The kids first ducked down and were completely out of sight. Dean and I hopped through the weeds and found them and then fell backwards. It was great. Simple, relaxing and enjoyable.
While walking back, the kids were really excited and played around the sporting field and on the bleachers, having way too much fun for bleachers. I have vague memories of playing on anything around the baseball fields in Hartington, NE because anything beat actually watching the game. I fondly remember "riding" the football training sleds, pretending they were land speeders with my sister and our family friend Mike.
I don't know if Raven and Syd had that much fun tonight but I think that it'll be a good memory for them. For that, I'm glad that this was how I spent my 500th new thing.
I don't think I'd consider myself a Trekkie. I can't name off schematics of the Enterprise. I didn't know Uhura's first name and I find it difficult to watch the original series. However, I found myself today that the front of the line to go see Star Trek on opening weekend.I thought it was awesome! I was unsure of how it would be with new actors playing beloved roles but the acting was undoubtedly the best part. And Zachary Quinto (Spock) is just plain hot!
When I started this blog, I said that a main motivator was to not have days go all Groundhog Day on me and seem like an endless loop. However, it's also resulted in me not really establishing a routine or comfort zone. I do have my habits but I am anxious to break most of them just to have something to write about. After Wednesday's double-thai, double-disappointment day, I decided to stick with what I know today.
I loved the Milo's experience I had last month at NCES training so I went back yesterday and had yet another good experience so I went back today. I sat in almost the same seat each time (I've been working my way seat by seat down the counter) and actually started reading my book today where I left off yesterday. The waitress, Mary Ann, actually said, "Whoa. Deja-Vu."
But it was comforting and it was good. I had different dishes each time and that's about all of the change I needed. I knew I enjoyed the atmosphere and the staff and I knew they had plenty of options for me so I went with what worked. And I couldn't be happier about it. However, I would recommend the hot vegetarian sandwich over the cold. But I'd get fries. Their Hungarian Mushroom soup is okay but it's better at Old Wives Tales. Just something I've learned by experience.
Also known as 'Thai-ed up,' 'Thai-erd' or 'Thai like an eagle.'
I love Thai food but I overindulged today. I had started the NCES trainings again so I got to go to the lunch spot of my choosing and have work pay the bill. I've read some decent things about Eagle Thai on Broadway. Unfortunately, I was under-impressed. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great.
I also heard some decent things about Kuhn Pic on Belmont. Again, I wasn't too impressed. The atmosphere there was at least charming because it is literally a mom and pop operation with mom cooking and pop working the front end.
The downside to doing this blog is that, given the opportunity, I will almost always chose to go out to somewhere new just for the experience even though I know that no Thai will top Thanh Thao on Hawthorne.
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!
Oh, the irony in naming this place Chaos...
I love coming to this place to relax and I've never been here for breakfast before. In fact, I hardly ever go out for breakfast. Breakfast is such an easy meal to make and there's a great variety of ways to do it with the same basic ingredients. I mean damn, I can cook an egg. Why would I want to pay someone to do it for me? But that was before I met you, Chaos Asparagus Benedict.
Talk about a brunch to make you forget all other brunches. It was fabulous and the place had just the atmosphere I was hoping to soak in and I got to write a letter too which is rare for me. The shittiest part of the experience was knowing that the Chaos Asparagus Benedict was the special of the day and chances are the I'm never going to see it again...
This is supposed to be the worker's holiday but I had a lot of stuff to do so I worked...for a while. By the afternoon, I had most of my busy tasks done so I took it easy the rest of the day and then went downtown to the May Day march.
Really, it feels like I only go to marches now to see friends that I don't see regularly. This one was fun but felt relatively purposeless. However, I did get to walk in the streets. Later on, while heading to the Red and Black to listen to Adelitas, I got to see the Cinco de Mayo fireworks which was probably the highlight of my evening. That and having a really good conversation with a friend that I hadn't seen for a while. I guess that's what May Day's about to me now, reconnecting.
However, I did also get this good picture of this cop. Hee hee.
Today was the first game of the new season of Timber soccer. Despite my last experience at a Timber's game, I decided to give it another go. It was good as far as a lack of homophobic and misogynistic comments go but a lame game overall. However, the company was good.
My friend just got a job at a brokerage firm that some of my clients are funded through. Without going into detail, she now works with people that I have to maintain a professional relationship with. Therefore it was weird when we went to pick her up for the game tonight and she brought along one of her co-workers and my client's personal agent. I guess it wasn't that weird. It was just unexpected but it actually was a good way to build rapport with her and at least I don't feel like I wasted my night, waiting for the Timbers to score (which they didn't).
I moved to Portland thanks to unemployment checks and credit cards. I got a credit card shortly after starting at the UNK years ago and initially, I was paying off my entire balance each month. However, upon moving to Portland, I got further and further into debt. At one point, I was living off a package of veggie dogs a week and the rest of my money was going to credit card companies (and the bars).
However, I called my dad who knows a thing or two about finances and he told me to keep transferring my balances to one card and then try to transfer that balance eventually to a card that had a 0% APR on balance transfers. As soon as that introductory offer runs out, move onto the next card. And that's what I've been doing. And today, I finally paid the fuckers off.
We watched a documentary about the secret history of credit cards tonight and it made me feel like a dolt for even having one card so I checked what I had in the bank and determined I could get it all paid off tonight.
I still have debt due to student loans and eye surgery but now I have one less bill to pay each month for the first time in a LONG time. Wooo-Hooo!
As I'm sure I've said before, my favorite part of the Riot Cop European shows was the disco party after the show. That's something that has consistently been lacking from the Portland shows. However, tonight, we disco'ed.
I went to my first show at the Union Hall downtown which is a great space in a good location. We got there late but Riot Cop was playing last so we were actually there just in time. Riot Cop put on a great show. Al burned a pic of Uncle Sam, then he burned his shirt and then a piece of his art. His shirt is on fire above. That's Al. He'll give the shirt off of his back (and burn it) for a good performance.
They had a DJ who was all about staying later so we danced til 3 or so. It felt really really good. It was probably my favorite R.C. show since Europe.
Today was a great example of why this blog is good for me. I've never given acupuncture much of a thought. I don't fear needles but I'm not that excited about them either. However, the Brooklyn Community Acupuncture clinic was offering free acupuncture sessions and I decided that I didn't really have anything to lose.
I do believe that it has it's value. As my vet said when she recommended it for Dean, the fact that it works for dogs is proof that it's not just a placebo effect. I don't know that I necessarily felt a lot better afterwards but then again, I just went in for neck and shoulder tension. They also said that it sometimes takes three to four sessions to see results. I would strongly recommend the place just for the atmosphere. They had some crouching tiger music going on in a dimly lit room while I sat in a recliner and there was a fountain behind me. I think that if I developed major pain (knocking on wood now), I'd definitely know where to go.
Cheers to me! I was just accepted to Portland State University's Masters of Social Work program! Yay!
I was nervous that I wasn't going to get in. One of my co-workers heard from PSU yesterday and they denied her. She said they had over 600 applicants and only take less than 200. I don't know why but they chose me!
When the computer freezes and is thinking too hard, the solution is usually to push ctrl-alt-delete and shut down a few of the tasks to try to help it push through the one important task. Usually this is where people criticize computers and curse them for not performing properly but who wouldn't love these keys. I think that sounds like a marvelous idea. I want some of these buttons, readily accessible.
In sharp contrast to Sunday, I've been having minor panic attacks since yesterday. I've begun growling at people when they try to give me new assignments. I've been trying to come up with more hours during the workday. Finally today, I hit those three buttons and told my boss I had to leave.
For my training class, I need to complete a homework assignment. It's supposed to be done during work and is supposed to take 6-8 hours. I don't have 6-8 hours to give. I left an hour and a half early today and got it done. It was the only way I could do it, by shutting down all other functions right then and focusing on the most pressing. I think multi-tasking is overrated. I'm so fucking overwhelmed right now that multi-tasking has meant everything gets performed at a half-assed level at the same time. It's better if I stop and shut down any unnecessary jobs to focus on the vital ones or else I may just shut down altogether.
I had a perfectly gay weekend. On Friday night, I hung out with one of my few gay friends. On Saturday night, I went to Silvers and a drag show. On Sunday, I went to That's So Gay trivia and won! (by default) Then today, I went to gay skate.
For a while, I thought, "Gresham was gayer," but that was before the DJ really got going and before the drag queens showed up. I had a roller derby friend there as well so it ended up being a lot of fun. My right heel quickly started burning and I developed blisters within an hour though. Damn rental shoes. Next time, I'm getting my own skates. Also, I'm going to wear a skirt because, fuck it, why not and it gets hot spinning in circles!
It's my 500th post. I wanted to do something special. I was going to roadtrip. Then I thought I'd just go for a massage or spa treatment. I also thought about getting another tattoo. In the end, I laid in flowers.
