So Much Sugar
Today was a weird day. I woke up at 6am for that volunteering gig where I hung up one piece of paper. Near to PSU they were setting up the farmers market, but it wasn't really up and running by the time I was done, so I used my transfer and hopped on the MAX to get home. I toyed with the idea of heading back down there, and got down there about 45 minutes before they closed. When I arrived, I perused the goods. I ended up getting 3 peaches, a little carton of blackberries and one of raspberries, a sausage (it was cooked and came with peppers and mustard on a bun that I ate right there, sitting on a cement stoop), 4 cookies, and an amazing bunch of flowers that only cost 8 bucks but would cost at least $50 in a flower shop.
I again decided to take the MAX back up to my place. It runs more frequently than buses, so it's convenient when you can't check the schedules. Lately it seems I've been taking the bus from home and the MAX back. While waiting for the train, 2 separate passersby commented on how lovely my flowers were. I was proud of them and announced each time that they only cost me $8. Each commenter was quite impressed.
At home I spent a while arranging my flowers. Not only my new bouquet, but also the carnations that I'd had for a few days that I paid more than $8 for at the supermarket. I had my fancy new bunch arranged, but didn't really like it much, so I re-did it entirely in a more appropriate vase. It was actually really fun. My mom was such an expert flower arranger that I never really tried because she'd always fix it if my efforts produced mediocre results. This time it was fun to fiddle with the placement of the flowers and the length of the stems until they were just right.
I was so tired after all the volunteering, and the public transporting, and the walking, and the farmers marketing, and the flower arranging. I ate most of all of my 4 cookies, sampling a bit of each different kind, and then decided I needed a nap. It wasn't a pretty nap. I plopped down on top of my covers, still in my semi-fancy volunteer clothes, intending just to rest for a while. I drifted into a restless sleep. Eventually I roused a bit because I was cold and tried to fashion a warm covering from one of my extra pillows; I wasn't actually awake enough or dedicated enough to my nap to make the effort of actually getting underneath my blanket. The pillow-as-blanket didn't work very well. I think I managed to cover my head and part of my left upper arm, but I guess it was warm enough because then I passed out, and had some really weird dreams.
I blame the cookies.
I woke up and felt really out of it. I was more than a little dazed and confused with red creased lines on my face, hair flattened on one side, crazy and spiky on the other, and bleary dry eyes (I hadn't bothered to remove my contacts before my nap). I had to pee like never before, so I stumbled to the bathroom. It seemed really late, so I checked the time.
It was 6pm already! I had somewhere to be!
My friend John, who is one of Justin's roommates, was turning 30, and out of it as I felt, I didn't want to skip it.
So I readied myself and kept checking later and later bus times as I spent more and more time primping and changing outfits, but mostly just coming to. Still in a bit of a post nap haze, I finally left at 6:31 and made the 6:35 bus in the nick of time, as I already mentioned. I noticed my phone was off by one minute, so I adjusted it to the bus time to aid in future punctuality.
I got to the bar, XV (they say 15, not echs-vee), soon after. I had a couple of cheap beers and some sweet potato fries. I met Jack who is from Israel, although until 7 years ago he lived in Laurel, MD which was quite coincidental. He even played against Damascus High when he played Lacrosse at Laurel High. He remained friendly and fun to talk to all night.
I also met Shu-Fen who is really friendly and funny. She's from Taiwan but quit her job of 9 years as a lawyer because she was fed up with working 90+ hours a week and googled "Environmental Law" in the US, saw that Lewis and Clark College was the best in the country, so decided to come here.
I met a couple of other folks at that first bar too, but I don't remember their names. I didn't really talk with them as much anyway, and they left before we mosied on to the next place.
Justin had a hankering for donuts, so we stopped by Voodoo Donuts which was just about a block away. I got a Boston Cream donut. It was gooooood.
Donut + the cookies from the farmers market = so much sugar today.
Next stop was Kells, an Irish Pub. The music was good. Great even, but it was so loud that it was hard to talk to people without yelling. Still, we chatted a bit, drank some Guinness, and took some silly photos. It was the halfway mark to St. Patrick's day, so there were some extra festivities and promotions going on including little pieces of plastic that blinked bright green in seizure inducing repetition, and free samples of Smithwick's with mini pint glasses that we were allowed to take home (I managed to snag 2!).
I met Oday who joined us at Kells. He's from Detroit and also one of the law school crowd. Didn't talk to him too much though.
Amy and Nikki showed up, and we decided to move on. I'd had enough of the loudness anyway.
We walked over to Ground Kontrol--my favorite bar because you can play pinball and they have holders for your beer. On the way I was talking to Jack about the prevalence of homeless people and the high population of homeless youth in Portland and some of the contributing factors. The girl Nikki made some really obnoxious comments about how it didn't seem like that much worse than any city, and that she felt like the youth who are homeless choose that as a lifestyle. I held my tongue and simply reiterated some of the facts that I have learned, but I think she just didn't want to hear it. At least Jack was interested in what I had to say.
When we were in Ground Kontrol I got to talking with Amy, who I learned is from Virginia originally, went to AU for Law School, and lived in North Bethesda for a while as well as DC for a few years. She is really cool, and the coolest coincidence ever is that she is literally my neighbor. When I mentioned where I live--on the corner of NW 20th and Everett--her eyes got huge and she was like, "ME TOO!" We figured out that she's in the apartment building that is directly behind my house. I can see her building from my kitchen window when I do the dishes. I've said it many times, and I'm sure I'll say it again--this city is such a small town.
We didn't stay at Ground Kontrol too long. I could have stayed and played pinball all night, but I think the gathered gang wasn't all that into it.
John wanted to do one last shot for his birthday. We headed over to Berbati's Pan for some tequila. I wasn't going to do a shot, but I totally caved to the not so intense peer pressure. It was shitty tequila, but thankfully I don't feel too bad.
Since we live next to each other, Amy and I walked home together, and had a fun time talking about what brought us out here, how we like our neighborhood, what we want to do in the future, and other things.
I now have the Mr. Rogers, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" song stuck in my head. Which is kind of random and kind of not.
I again decided to take the MAX back up to my place. It runs more frequently than buses, so it's convenient when you can't check the schedules. Lately it seems I've been taking the bus from home and the MAX back. While waiting for the train, 2 separate passersby commented on how lovely my flowers were. I was proud of them and announced each time that they only cost me $8. Each commenter was quite impressed.
At home I spent a while arranging my flowers. Not only my new bouquet, but also the carnations that I'd had for a few days that I paid more than $8 for at the supermarket. I had my fancy new bunch arranged, but didn't really like it much, so I re-did it entirely in a more appropriate vase. It was actually really fun. My mom was such an expert flower arranger that I never really tried because she'd always fix it if my efforts produced mediocre results. This time it was fun to fiddle with the placement of the flowers and the length of the stems until they were just right.
I was so tired after all the volunteering, and the public transporting, and the walking, and the farmers marketing, and the flower arranging. I ate most of all of my 4 cookies, sampling a bit of each different kind, and then decided I needed a nap. It wasn't a pretty nap. I plopped down on top of my covers, still in my semi-fancy volunteer clothes, intending just to rest for a while. I drifted into a restless sleep. Eventually I roused a bit because I was cold and tried to fashion a warm covering from one of my extra pillows; I wasn't actually awake enough or dedicated enough to my nap to make the effort of actually getting underneath my blanket. The pillow-as-blanket didn't work very well. I think I managed to cover my head and part of my left upper arm, but I guess it was warm enough because then I passed out, and had some really weird dreams.
I blame the cookies.
I woke up and felt really out of it. I was more than a little dazed and confused with red creased lines on my face, hair flattened on one side, crazy and spiky on the other, and bleary dry eyes (I hadn't bothered to remove my contacts before my nap). I had to pee like never before, so I stumbled to the bathroom. It seemed really late, so I checked the time.
It was 6pm already! I had somewhere to be!
My friend John, who is one of Justin's roommates, was turning 30, and out of it as I felt, I didn't want to skip it.
So I readied myself and kept checking later and later bus times as I spent more and more time primping and changing outfits, but mostly just coming to. Still in a bit of a post nap haze, I finally left at 6:31 and made the 6:35 bus in the nick of time, as I already mentioned. I noticed my phone was off by one minute, so I adjusted it to the bus time to aid in future punctuality.
I got to the bar, XV (they say 15, not echs-vee), soon after. I had a couple of cheap beers and some sweet potato fries. I met Jack who is from Israel, although until 7 years ago he lived in Laurel, MD which was quite coincidental. He even played against Damascus High when he played Lacrosse at Laurel High. He remained friendly and fun to talk to all night.
I also met Shu-Fen who is really friendly and funny. She's from Taiwan but quit her job of 9 years as a lawyer because she was fed up with working 90+ hours a week and googled "Environmental Law" in the US, saw that Lewis and Clark College was the best in the country, so decided to come here.
I met a couple of other folks at that first bar too, but I don't remember their names. I didn't really talk with them as much anyway, and they left before we mosied on to the next place.
Justin had a hankering for donuts, so we stopped by Voodoo Donuts which was just about a block away. I got a Boston Cream donut. It was gooooood.
Donut + the cookies from the farmers market = so much sugar today.
Next stop was Kells, an Irish Pub. The music was good. Great even, but it was so loud that it was hard to talk to people without yelling. Still, we chatted a bit, drank some Guinness, and took some silly photos. It was the halfway mark to St. Patrick's day, so there were some extra festivities and promotions going on including little pieces of plastic that blinked bright green in seizure inducing repetition, and free samples of Smithwick's with mini pint glasses that we were allowed to take home (I managed to snag 2!).
I met Oday who joined us at Kells. He's from Detroit and also one of the law school crowd. Didn't talk to him too much though.
Amy and Nikki showed up, and we decided to move on. I'd had enough of the loudness anyway.
We walked over to Ground Kontrol--my favorite bar because you can play pinball and they have holders for your beer. On the way I was talking to Jack about the prevalence of homeless people and the high population of homeless youth in Portland and some of the contributing factors. The girl Nikki made some really obnoxious comments about how it didn't seem like that much worse than any city, and that she felt like the youth who are homeless choose that as a lifestyle. I held my tongue and simply reiterated some of the facts that I have learned, but I think she just didn't want to hear it. At least Jack was interested in what I had to say.
When we were in Ground Kontrol I got to talking with Amy, who I learned is from Virginia originally, went to AU for Law School, and lived in North Bethesda for a while as well as DC for a few years. She is really cool, and the coolest coincidence ever is that she is literally my neighbor. When I mentioned where I live--on the corner of NW 20th and Everett--her eyes got huge and she was like, "ME TOO!" We figured out that she's in the apartment building that is directly behind my house. I can see her building from my kitchen window when I do the dishes. I've said it many times, and I'm sure I'll say it again--this city is such a small town.
We didn't stay at Ground Kontrol too long. I could have stayed and played pinball all night, but I think the gathered gang wasn't all that into it.
John wanted to do one last shot for his birthday. We headed over to Berbati's Pan for some tequila. I wasn't going to do a shot, but I totally caved to the not so intense peer pressure. It was shitty tequila, but thankfully I don't feel too bad.
Since we live next to each other, Amy and I walked home together, and had a fun time talking about what brought us out here, how we like our neighborhood, what we want to do in the future, and other things.
I now have the Mr. Rogers, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" song stuck in my head. Which is kind of random and kind of not.