When I came down for the fair last year, it was overwhelming. There was so much to look out and the path seemed so windy that I was certain I was missing things. Today, I got to accept that I absolutely was going to miss things and I had to be cool with that. Yesterday, even though the fair wasn't open, I know I was missing things because I was in line for a picture badge for 2 hours. Fortunately, my friend Michael (The Lord Humongous) was in line with me and we got in line behind Heather (H-bomb Deluxe) and Marco (General Mayhem), two performers from Vegas, mainly stilt walkers. Their group name is Great Heights.
As big as fair is, it was great that I ran into them today while I worked my first shift at the Community Village (Commie Village). They had on wonderful costumes and stayed in character (they were eight foot goats). They were the first people I really met at fair so I was glad to see them again. Plus, I realized that I saw them last year as well as I was looking at that post.
It was my first day of pre-fair today. A lot of people were setting up but there were a good amount of vendors already open. The fashion bug stung me and I had to buy something cute. I ended up with a cute belt with pouches. I'm really going to try to resist the need to buy shit though.
I also walked the fair at night. It's neat because you're in the woods and there are various booths lit up and performers out and about but it's not all lit up perfect and safe. It's dark with a bit of mystery and allure to it.
And we're off!
I'm so excited for this fair. I'm not sure what to expect and I'm trying not to expect anything so I won't be disappointed. It's not that I don't think the Oregon Country Fair will be fabulous but I don't want to go in with schedules and agendas. It's my vacation. I want to relax.
However, one expectation that I did have was that we would break down. Last year, Ashes and Victory's ride broke down and so did Balam's. We also had our trip to the coast with Bertha the RV so I was sure that a breakdown was imminent. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad. The Robo-Bee (the other bus in our caravan) wouldn't start after filling up with gas somewhere between here and fair. Luckily, a battery jump solved the problem.
Here's to hoping that all problems which may arise over the next several days can be solved so easily.
I went to college orientation this morning. It figures that it would fall on the day when I am on vacation from work and supposed to leave town shortly. I met a good number of people that are going into the same program. Suddenly, I feel just as prepared as anyone else. It's good because I was figuring they were all light-years ahead of me. Turns out, there were a good number of people with BA's in English there who later found social work as a calling. I guess it's good to know I'm in good standing but I guess I'm not so original after all.
Baking Raven's birthday cake has proudly become a tradition for me. I went with my vegan chocolate soy-less cake recipe and added a spectacular frosting and strawberries this year. I have to say that I think it is my finest.
Fortunately, it didn't come back up the rest of the day as I rode the rides at Oaks Park. I rode the damn roller coaster five times and now I can't sit down properly. I think it actually fractured my tail bone. I also rode the bumper cars twice, the Disk-o (which is the ride that hates your crotch), the topsy turvy ferris wheel and the Screaming Eagle which I should have known better than to do again. Overall, it was a good day. Plus Raven got Guitar Hero for the Wii so I got to play that for the first time. I learned that I can't actually sing "No Sleep Til Brooklyn". 
Wow, it's been a while since I've blogged. Life's been busy but the kind of busy it'd be if I didn't have a job; the good kind of busy. It was the fourth of July today and, since it's a Saturday, work gave me off Friday the third as well. Three day weekend!
I started off my mini-vacation with going to my first inter-continental futbol game last night. We did great and I saw the best goal ever, a header right in front to me. It was beautiful.
Today, I didn't do a lot at all and really accepted that I'm not going to feel bad about that. I need to get stuff ready for fair but it's a holiday so most of the stores are closed. It means I don't have to take care of anything today except watch fireworks.
We went down to the waterfront and came back and put on a good show for the neighborhood with some fireworks I've been holding onto for a while. Thanks mom and dad!
What's nice is I only have eight hours more of work within the next week before I start on my actual vacation. Then I'm packing up my bags and not looking back for a while.
I bought my bike six years ago in a pawn shop in Vancouver, WA. Since then, it's been in the shop (Seven Corners) several times but always in a reactive capacity. I had not done any preventative or general maintenance work on it. Since I was getting ready to go without it for a week at the Fair, I figured I could drop it off now and get it done. Also, people during Pedalpalooza were constantly saying that my bike sounded troubled.
I brought it in on Wednesday and Rick there told me several things that he could immediately spot as being a problem. I told him he could keep it a week to fix it up but I got a call today, saying it was done. Overall, I needed a few parts replaced and a lot of labor on it. It cost me $120 but when you figured that was for 6+ years of maintenance, I'd say I came out pretty good.
Anyway, the bike has never ever run this good. It's basically a brand new bike to me. I am once again in bike love.
I headed back down to OCF today for meetings and more work. I gotta say that it was difficult to prepare myself for another five hours in the car and another shower in bug spray. I'm also sick of sandwiches. Fortunately, during fair, we will be taking the RV and there will be some awesome food available (vegan philly cheese steak!!!!).
Again, I feel a bit of apprehension. I don't know why because these are some of the most unpretentious folk around and some of the most accepting. It's just the idea of something new and the fact that I can't just go home and chill with my dog. But I'll get through it. I'm sure that once I'm there and have something to do, I'll be fine. Aside from the bugs, I haven't really heard anything negative about. Of course, that's all been from social individuals. I'll have to wait and see how I adjust.
However, we did have a full booth meeting and a full community village meeting so I had the chance to meet and talk with several people that I'm going to be around during the majority of the time and I didn't get a bad vibe off of one of them. The people in the photo above are the people that are going to be working in the Doors of Expression booth with us. It's a lot of people for a small booth so I guess we better all get friendly. Fortunately, I don't forsee that as being a problem.
Today was my first day working at the OCF. It doesn't start for a few weeks but there's a lot of prep work involved as it's a big event. I was prepared to work and I ended hauling my share of bamboo but I feel I could be doing more. However, since it was my first time there working, I thought it was best to not take the lead on too many projects and just go with the flow and be a bamboo mule.
The mosquitoes were horrendous and we needed two separate doses of Deep Woods Off in order to protect ourselves. I got a chance to meet some of the people that we will be working with in the Community Village and they all seem so nice. I'm hoping it will be okay. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was feeling like I did in sixth grade when my parents forced me to go to Boy Scout Camp. I feel nervous and apprehensive. However, if I can survive for a month in a van with a punk band, I think I can make it a week in the woods with hippie folk.
My tribute to the King of Pop
Nico and I in various MJ stages 
Dance party on Alberta Street's Last Thursday Art Exhibition 
Spinning to the beat! 
Vaudville dancers! 
Belly dancers paying tribute
My sister's second cassette tape (after Toni Basil's Word of Mouth) was Thriller. My sister and I would spend hours upon hours listening to it. We would sing the songs on road trips which is probably why we got put into the back of a covered, carpeted pickup. I thought every song on the album was a major hit because that's all we listened to.
Despite whatever became of Michael Jackson's personal reputation, the man was still the King of Pop. The legacy he left cannot be denied. From the Jackson 5 to Thriller, MJ made an unparalleled impact on the world's pop culture. Only a very small percentage of people have not heard his music and have not danced to his beat.
When I found out today that he died, I was in disbelief. It seems so strange that the world is without Michael Jackson. I found out that there was going to be a Michael Jackson Memorial Bike Ride today (organized within hours of the announcement of his death) and I knew that, despite whatever I had planned, I was going to go.
Despite my flat tire (thank you Seven Corners for continuing to be so awesome and getting it fixed lickity split), I was able to join around seventy other cyclists for the ride. Before we took off, we danced to "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5 in the Peace Gardens on the eastside of the Steel Bridge, overlooking downtown. It was a feeling of complete joy mixed with sorrow in a way that I don't think I've felt in a long long time. With three sound carts on the ride, we headed up to Alberta Street's last thursday with a few stops for dance parties along the way. Normally, I would hate last Thursday. However, crashing it with a bunch of cyclists and forming an improptu dance party was awesome.
Today, I took a mental health day from work and needed to escape. I couldn't decided whether to go to the woods or the beach so I did both. I checked out a Prius ZipCar for the day since I doubted my car could make it (it needs a tune up) and found a spot on the beach less than 90 miles from my house. It needed to be 90 miles or less because ZipCar will start charging you when you exceed 180 miles in a day.
We went to Cape Meares. It was wonderful. We had a great time with the hike through the woods to the beach and back. It's not the most relaxing beach around but it's always good to see the ocean. There's a lighthouse overlooking the cape too which adds to the allure of the spot. There was also just the right amount of woods to venture through before reaching the coast. The hike wasn't daunting but it was deep enough to drown out the sounds of traffic and allow one to feel like they're getting away from it all. The mental health day worked wonders and I feel I'm able to make it to the weekend!
Plus, I love hybrids! It's definetly a nice break from driving a big ole Lincoln Towncar around.
I can think of many other ways to spend a Sunday but when I heard that my friend Jen needed help painting her place, I didn't even hesitate to say I'd be there.
Maybe it's my immaturity but I always think back to, "What did my parents do at my age (besides deal with three kids)?" and I remember that they used to help their friends all the time. They had a dependable core of people, the Burns', The Christensens', the Bernhardts', who they would always be there for and who would always be there for them. They would move each other. They would work on houses together. They would also have regular card playing nights and take vacations together but I think they really bonded during the working times.
And, you know, my friends here are like that. I know certain people that I could always count on to help pitch in and I like being one of those people too.
Jen moved across town when she used to be my 'down-the-street' neighbor. While this move does mean that I'll see her less (sigh), I still want to reinforce those bonds. Hell, my parents moved away from their friends at one point in my life and they'd still drive six hours to help them out. I think I can make it sixty blocks.
I used to love family vacation time. It didn't matter where we were going because we were getting away from it all. It's been a LONG time since I can say that I have had a legitimate vacation, no working a punk tour, not a family visit, just a straight-up, nothing-to-worry-about vacation. Today felt like a vacation day.
