Busy Week Ends Later
Spring Break! These two words are wonderfully welcome to so many. I too was a student once, though perhaps a rather poor one, and loved my Spring Break as much as any cog turning in the vast educational machine. Now I am no longer formally a student, and instead have learned to love the Spring Breaks of others. Yes, it has been a busy week in Portland, which is not surprisingly the chosen destination for many Oregonians looking for a few days out of town. I have lost count of the visiting friends I've seen; I'll not try to enumerate them for fear of omitting somebody. It has been quite fun.
Last night I went to my first Trail Blazers game to celebrate a friend's birthday. It was entertaining and educational. There was such a vast crowd in the Rose Garden, and the game itself seemed to be half-sport, half-show. They stop the game for commercial breaks (for the viewers at home) and fire t-shirts into the crowd using a sort of textile howitzer. Happily, I did not spill much of my $9 beer, and I found the price perplexing. Widmer, Pyramid, Mactarnahans, and the usual suspects were represented. I did have a great time, and I'd like to see another game. But perhaps I'll hold out for the Timbers---basketball may not be my favorite sport.
Which is really too bad, because there's a basketball court in my apartment complex.
The birthday celebration made its way downtown, and after prying myself loose from the bacchanalia, I had a beer with a couple of the aforementioned visiting friends before heading home. And that's where things got a little frustrating. I made my way to the bus stop with at least ten or fifteen minutes to spare, and started waiting. And waiting. The bus stop filled with people, all anxious that they had not missed the last bus of the night. But the bus never came. The people started drifting away.
I befriended a couple who was also waiting, and the three of us agreed to share a cab. We called three different taxi companies. No cab came. We called again. Still no cab. What was going on?
Finally, just as I was determined to walk home, the bus arrived. It was nearly an hour late! The bus driver apologized and explained that there were mechanical difficulties, and then expressed shock at how late he was. How could he not know? Well, it was a nice quiet ride home, at least, and I didn't have to walk. I arrived home near 3AM. Exhausted.
Last night I went to my first Trail Blazers game to celebrate a friend's birthday. It was entertaining and educational. There was such a vast crowd in the Rose Garden, and the game itself seemed to be half-sport, half-show. They stop the game for commercial breaks (for the viewers at home) and fire t-shirts into the crowd using a sort of textile howitzer. Happily, I did not spill much of my $9 beer, and I found the price perplexing. Widmer, Pyramid, Mactarnahans, and the usual suspects were represented. I did have a great time, and I'd like to see another game. But perhaps I'll hold out for the Timbers---basketball may not be my favorite sport.
Which is really too bad, because there's a basketball court in my apartment complex.
The birthday celebration made its way downtown, and after prying myself loose from the bacchanalia, I had a beer with a couple of the aforementioned visiting friends before heading home. And that's where things got a little frustrating. I made my way to the bus stop with at least ten or fifteen minutes to spare, and started waiting. And waiting. The bus stop filled with people, all anxious that they had not missed the last bus of the night. But the bus never came. The people started drifting away.
I befriended a couple who was also waiting, and the three of us agreed to share a cab. We called three different taxi companies. No cab came. We called again. Still no cab. What was going on?
Finally, just as I was determined to walk home, the bus arrived. It was nearly an hour late! The bus driver apologized and explained that there were mechanical difficulties, and then expressed shock at how late he was. How could he not know? Well, it was a nice quiet ride home, at least, and I didn't have to walk. I arrived home near 3AM. Exhausted.