Continuing to check off typical Portland experiences on my list (inherited tickets for August: Osage County, a play at Keller Auditorium, for which Alisha and I got all dolled up...thanks Nancy!), McMenamin's must be mentioned! This last week I went to 3 different Mac locations, none of which I'd been to before, all of which were in downtown! I started with the Ram's Head on 23rd with cuzzie Alisha on Wednesday, checked out the Market St. Pub with Hannah and Megan on Thursday night after we went to a grad school fair at PSU (it's SO happening for me...someday...), where we shamelessly flirted with 'Snakes' the server, and rounded off the week at the Mission Theater last night with my mom, part of the OSU marching band, and other Beaver fans and alum watching the dismal game v. USC on the big screen, and using the pounding as an excuse to drink more! I even gave my number to a girl who was acting on behalf of her really shy friend, who looked old enough to be my dad, but whatevs. My mom thinks she heard me gave the wrong number...well, I was drunk. So much the better. Sorry universe, I didn't purposely deceive!
Each time I went with 'buena gente' as Hannah says, or good people. Because that's what McMenamin's are all about. With Hannah and Megan, we even got a list of all locations and started checking them off...between the 3 of us, we want to hit them all up! We'll have to go as far north as Seattle, as far east as Bend, and as far south as Roseburg to do it, but we got this!
In other news, the job search continues. I've filled out more applications, and lost more self respect, with the end result of being employed hopefully coming soon! Next app: McMenamin's! :)
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Portland!
Ok, I just had a great weekend of typical Portland experiences: Powell's City of Books, where my mom and I sold some books back ($42 credit, woohoo!), and I applied for a seasonal job. We used the $ to buy 2 new releases/best sellers (I picked out Jon Krakauer's new book about Pat Tillman, and my mom bought Dan Brown's new rag). I also hung out in St. John's with Alison...a part of town I don't really know at all. Yesterday my friend Hannah and I went to a Portland Trailblazers (pre-season) game. There were some cute little kids about (I saw a 1' tall Greg Oden!) and, oh yeah, we won! Woohoo! The best part was we were smart enough to park on the street, where we serendipitously ran into Megan, (is Portland really that small?), and we weren't out $15, and we got out pretty quickly.
So, according to this, Portland is the 11th best city in the US to find the single guys (so jealous of Patrick in the ATL!). Awesome! Too bad I don't have a job or any money or success. How am I supposed to hook a catch? Maybe dressing up like a pirate for Halloween will be my ticket, though I fear they've been overdone. If the song by Norah Jones and freecreditreport.com commercials featuring pirates are any indication...
Portland's also one of the smartest cities around (9th most brilliant! Suck it Baltimore! Baltimore?). Hmm, is it wrong that I wish I were in a dumber city right now? Maybe I'd have a better time of finding a job! :)
So, according to this, Portland is the 11th best city in the US to find the single guys (so jealous of Patrick in the ATL!). Awesome! Too bad I don't have a job or any money or success. How am I supposed to hook a catch? Maybe dressing up like a pirate for Halloween will be my ticket, though I fear they've been overdone. If the song by Norah Jones and freecreditreport.com commercials featuring pirates are any indication...
Portland's also one of the smartest cities around (9th most brilliant! Suck it Baltimore! Baltimore?). Hmm, is it wrong that I wish I were in a dumber city right now? Maybe I'd have a better time of finding a job! :)
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Back
Being back has been...interesting. Is there anything more deflating than being on the job market? I'm having trouble with the whole "I'm-looking-for-a-job-which-means-I-don't-currently-have-one-which-(in America at least)-means-I'm-a-sub-par-human-being" thing. I read the current copy of the Willamette Week in the MAX today and it told me that Oregon's unemployment (11.5%ish) is one of the highest around. But I still feel inadequate.
Also I'm living with my mom. The best part about that is drinking wine periodically, baking cookies, and watching Survivor together again (amazing how easily I can fall back into that, but it's a passion. Producers...you missed out!). The very best part is sleeping with Kucha. She's the cutest dog in the world, and I swear that being away from her for a whole year has exponentially increased my love for her. I've always been cautiously in love with her, but now it's all out-I hug her and kiss her (even though she licks my toes and various sundries off the ground), and don't even mind the dog smell anymore (much). The worst part is...I'm living 'at home' (even though I've never 'lived' here before, in this house, just visited), with all the nagging ('get a job!') and feelings of inadequacies that entails.
So even though I'm a complete pathetic loser, worthy of the 'pathetic loser' pants I almost didn't change out of at all yesterday, I'm still finding reasons to be optimistic, namely, the divine friends I've been reconnecting with, all across Portland. "I'm in Portland! Wow! I can't believe I'm in Portland!" I hear myself keep saying. A play at the Newmark Theater with Hannah (ok, ok, so The Laramie Project 10 years later isn't the happiest of pieces, but it was mindblowing, and amazing to be a part of something so big and cool and right), Rogue Brewery with Megan and Layna, and the Hawthorne district with Alisha, where I had very reactionary reactions against all the hipsters afoot. ENOUGH already with the vintage, the tight pants, the funky hair, the admittedly bitchin' tattoos, the macchiatos and the local pride! After thinking about why these harmless trendies were pissing me off so much, (-'really Annette, what's so wrong with local pride, when your local is Portland, OR??' -'true fact, inner reasonable self') I think it had something to do with all the Hindu- and Buddhism-inspired objets d'arts I kept seeing in the kooky little trinket stores, after just having been in the real deal in Cambodia. Over there, Buddhism is more than just a chintzy statue to stash on your sideboard, it's life, in a way I can't even speak to because I only really got a taste of it.
Enough already with the reverse culture shock! And can somebody tell me why Law & Order SVU is one of my current favorite pastimes, even with the preposterous plots of late?
Also I'm living with my mom. The best part about that is drinking wine periodically, baking cookies, and watching Survivor together again (amazing how easily I can fall back into that, but it's a passion. Producers...you missed out!). The very best part is sleeping with Kucha. She's the cutest dog in the world, and I swear that being away from her for a whole year has exponentially increased my love for her. I've always been cautiously in love with her, but now it's all out-I hug her and kiss her (even though she licks my toes and various sundries off the ground), and don't even mind the dog smell anymore (much). The worst part is...I'm living 'at home' (even though I've never 'lived' here before, in this house, just visited), with all the nagging ('get a job!') and feelings of inadequacies that entails.
So even though I'm a complete pathetic loser, worthy of the 'pathetic loser' pants I almost didn't change out of at all yesterday, I'm still finding reasons to be optimistic, namely, the divine friends I've been reconnecting with, all across Portland. "I'm in Portland! Wow! I can't believe I'm in Portland!" I hear myself keep saying. A play at the Newmark Theater with Hannah (ok, ok, so The Laramie Project 10 years later isn't the happiest of pieces, but it was mindblowing, and amazing to be a part of something so big and cool and right), Rogue Brewery with Megan and Layna, and the Hawthorne district with Alisha, where I had very reactionary reactions against all the hipsters afoot. ENOUGH already with the vintage, the tight pants, the funky hair, the admittedly bitchin' tattoos, the macchiatos and the local pride! After thinking about why these harmless trendies were pissing me off so much, (-'really Annette, what's so wrong with local pride, when your local is Portland, OR??' -'true fact, inner reasonable self') I think it had something to do with all the Hindu- and Buddhism-inspired objets d'arts I kept seeing in the kooky little trinket stores, after just having been in the real deal in Cambodia. Over there, Buddhism is more than just a chintzy statue to stash on your sideboard, it's life, in a way I can't even speak to because I only really got a taste of it.
Enough already with the reverse culture shock! And can somebody tell me why Law & Order SVU is one of my current favorite pastimes, even with the preposterous plots of late?
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Sweet Home Alabama
So what did we do the first full day we were in Alabama? We proper hicked it up, heading out to a huge swath of land dedicated to ATVing. Acres of mud and trails through the woods, just for ATVs and dirtbikes. Miles was in Heaven, trying out his new purchase. I was sad because we didn't bring enough beer (9 beers for 5 people = bad math). The Boggdaddy (the place is called Boggs and Boulders) gave Phil, Cherie and I a personal tour on his mammoth ATV, because he felt bad that we were just sitting around waiting for our turn. He pointed out the new RV hook-ups, the swimming hole with rope swing (of course we hadn't thought to ask about this, so hadn't brought our swimsuits), the muddy hill a few dump trucks were keeping muddy. A veritable redneck's paradise. Well, Miles took me out on the big bear and I have to say it was a lot of fun. I don't think I'll ever buy one for myself, but I don't think he's completely crazy anymore. We saw 4 deer run by, and almost got stuck in the mud once. With a higher beer to person ratio, a tent for camping out in the back of the property, and a weekend of good weather, Boggs and Boulders wouldn't be half bad. I think Miles is camping there this weekend.
The next day, we woke up ridiculously early and raced Phil and Cherie to the Atlanta airport (code: ATL...I couldn't stop humming/singing Fergie). They missed their flight but caught another one that left 10 minutes later. Then Miles and I went to Marietta to visit Patrick Stromer, future chiropractor extraordinaire! We ate Chick-fil-A (I flipped out to try the sweet tea, and all the people working there thought I was crazy. They also thought it was crazy that I come from a land devoid of sweet tea, because, what would life be without it?), bought 6 6-packs (one for each hand) of microbrew beer from all over the country (GA, OR, CO), and then headed to the Braves game. The $1 tickets were sold out, and we were not about to pay $8 to get into a half-over game, (and the military discount tickets were $9...go figure), so we went to the bar across the street, where we could watch it on TV if we cared. We drank beer (and a Bloody Mary for me) and then ended up playing spades with some of the people who worked the game (concessions? ticket taking?). So fun! Then we hooked up with Miles' friend Treiz and his girlfriend Kristin and went to some bar and played pool. Then we ate at Steak and Shake. Yum.
Before driving home to Alabama the next day, Patrick told us we could check out the Coca-Cola museum or the Aquarium. Ho hum. OR, the CNN Center! Miles and I got to tour where the news is made, er, reported! It was pretty exciting.
The next couple of days are kind of a blur...we drank a lot of beer, (and a little wine, and a few mixed drinks), ate all sorts of wings, burgers and things, saw a mediocre movie, went to the aviation museum (we started at an aviation museum in Oregon and ended at one at Ft. Rucker, AL), and then the last day Miles took me shooting! (When in the South, right?) He's bought a lot of guns on his last few leaves (including a shotgun that was an impulse buy...that just seems wrong), so I got to test them out. I'd never shot a pistol before, and it was intense, especially since we weren't shooting bullseye targets, but vaguely human-shaped ones. I got a few head and chest shots at 25'. Hooray! (?) It was fun. Then he drove me to Montgomery, where we went out for an amazing steak dinner before he dropped me off at my hotel and drove home. I flew out the next day.
Now I'm back in Portland, half-heartedly looking for a job (I need money but who wants to work?), trying not to be too depressed about living back at home. Life is a journey, even if you're just at home. Miles loaned me a few books I probably never would have read otherwise (Greek war epics and alternative histories), and I'm resolved to re-discover Portland (there are tons of bars and restaurants I've heard about but never been to), all while deciding where I'm going next. I'm outta here by September 22, 2010. Here we go!
The next day, we woke up ridiculously early and raced Phil and Cherie to the Atlanta airport (code: ATL...I couldn't stop humming/singing Fergie). They missed their flight but caught another one that left 10 minutes later. Then Miles and I went to Marietta to visit Patrick Stromer, future chiropractor extraordinaire! We ate Chick-fil-A (I flipped out to try the sweet tea, and all the people working there thought I was crazy. They also thought it was crazy that I come from a land devoid of sweet tea, because, what would life be without it?), bought 6 6-packs (one for each hand) of microbrew beer from all over the country (GA, OR, CO), and then headed to the Braves game. The $1 tickets were sold out, and we were not about to pay $8 to get into a half-over game, (and the military discount tickets were $9...go figure), so we went to the bar across the street, where we could watch it on TV if we cared. We drank beer (and a Bloody Mary for me) and then ended up playing spades with some of the people who worked the game (concessions? ticket taking?). So fun! Then we hooked up with Miles' friend Treiz and his girlfriend Kristin and went to some bar and played pool. Then we ate at Steak and Shake. Yum.
Before driving home to Alabama the next day, Patrick told us we could check out the Coca-Cola museum or the Aquarium. Ho hum. OR, the CNN Center! Miles and I got to tour where the news is made, er, reported! It was pretty exciting.
The next couple of days are kind of a blur...we drank a lot of beer, (and a little wine, and a few mixed drinks), ate all sorts of wings, burgers and things, saw a mediocre movie, went to the aviation museum (we started at an aviation museum in Oregon and ended at one at Ft. Rucker, AL), and then the last day Miles took me shooting! (When in the South, right?) He's bought a lot of guns on his last few leaves (including a shotgun that was an impulse buy...that just seems wrong), so I got to test them out. I'd never shot a pistol before, and it was intense, especially since we weren't shooting bullseye targets, but vaguely human-shaped ones. I got a few head and chest shots at 25'. Hooray! (?) It was fun. Then he drove me to Montgomery, where we went out for an amazing steak dinner before he dropped me off at my hotel and drove home. I flew out the next day.
Now I'm back in Portland, half-heartedly looking for a job (I need money but who wants to work?), trying not to be too depressed about living back at home. Life is a journey, even if you're just at home. Miles loaned me a few books I probably never would have read otherwise (Greek war epics and alternative histories), and I'm resolved to re-discover Portland (there are tons of bars and restaurants I've heard about but never been to), all while deciding where I'm going next. I'm outta here by September 22, 2010. Here we go!
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Recapping the road trip! Part 1 - Getting There
Less than 24 hours after arriving back in the US for the first time in a year, I set out on an amazing crazy road trip. What better way to acclimatize back to the US than drive across it into the heartland? So my brother Miles, his friend Phil, Phil's wife Cherie, and I set out from Jantzen Beach, OR; as north as you can get on I-5 and still be in Oregon (though since we had dinner in Vancouver, WA the night I got back, I think we're counting that as one of the states in our trip).
Day 1 - We drove by the Spruce Goose (the largest airplane ever built...out of wood no less) on our way to the coast and ran into our cousin Kirk! He volunteers at the Evergreen Aviation Museum on Thursdays, a fact I was completely ignorant of. It was SO COOL and random to see him and get some sweet VIP tours through a B-17 and the Spruce Goose's cockpit!
Night 1 - Camping just south of Crescent City, CA. Beer, beginning-of-the-trip-excitement, slideshow from Iraq. Good times.
Day 2 - We leisurely check out some redwoods, including driving through one of them. Gorgeous, gentle giants. Lunch with my friend Hillary in Arcata (mmm Divine Swine! In the plaza, near the middle of town...some of the most delicious pork and tea I've ever tasted).
Night 2 - Sleepover at Aunt Robin's! We got there at around 11pm but Aunt Robin was game to stay up and drink with us until 3am!
Day 3 - Brunch with Aunt Robin, Uncle Jeff, Reid, Madeleine, Howard and Michele (Howard and Miles were 'sampling' Red Breast whiskey even though it was morning...5pm somewhere, right?), and then we set off through the desert. We ate at In-N-Out, amazing good food, simple menu, and Cherie had never been.
Night 3, Day 4, Night 4 - Who needs a hotel room in Vegas? We didn't! We rolled in around 10pm, met up with our cousin Stephanie (who drove down from Cedar City, UT, her current hometown), and did Vegas right! (Or did it do us?) That night Steph and I rocked the slots (I won $20 which I promptly spent on overpriced alcohol in the Irish bar), the free drinks, and all. The next morning we were all a little worse for wear, but managed to get food into our bellies and wander around until the mid-afternoon when we could finally (like chumps) check into some hotel rooms...hey, YOU go 48 hrs in Vegas sans bed and shower! After a deep afternoon nap, we all woke up and did it again. Hooray for slots-I won more money! Boo for 3-card poker...I lost more money than I won in slots! But dang that Lucio, the dealer, was cute! Hooray for $19 foot-long rum drinks! And I finally got to dance...at some bar right on the strip that closed around 5 or 6am. With foreigners. I swear I met more Europeans in Vegas than other Americans. It's like I never left (Europe). Solid.
Day 5 - Stephanie and I parted ways somewhere early that morning (she woke me up to say goodbye), and the road-trippers and I finally hit the road around noon.
Night 5 - We made it to the Grand Canyon right around sunset (we bought the $25 entrance pass from the hottest park ranger any of us had ever seen...truth. Just ask my brother...), and then found a campsite in the park. I passed out at 9pm after 2 1/2 beers...let's just say I had a lot of fun in Vegas (note: not Las Vegas, just Vegas. Those of us in the know...know). So I missed the part where Miles, Phil and Cherie met Steve and Wendi, the just-married couple camping next door to us doing the reverse road trip as us (Texas - Grand Canyon - Vegas - the Redwoods). Whatever. I was refreshed to help drive the next morning.
Day 6, Night 6 - 22 straight hours of driving, 3 states (AZ, NM, and TX), and about 1,300 miles from the Grand Canyon to Kilgore, East TX. We arrived around 7am. Mmm breakfast burritos with the coppers. Which meant we went through most of Texas in the dark. Good riddance.
Day 7 - Kilgore and Longview TX. Miles bought an ATV. And a trailer to put it on. It was an all-day ordeal. Phil, Cherie and I were quite surly by the end of it. But he got a good deal from his buddy's father-in-law!
Night 7 - Hotel in Shreveport, Louisiana. A pool, a lukewarm hot tub, lots of beers, IHOP, and comfy beds. Surliness subsided.
Day 8 - After all that, knocking out the rest of Lousiana, all of Mississippi, and lots of Alabama (along seemingly uninhabited country roads) was no sweat. We ate at some Mexican restaurant whose menu misleadingly featured enticing photographs of delicious mixed drinks and beers, but which in actuality had no alcohol on the premises. Counties going dry? In this day and age? Guess that's the south for ya. We arrived at Ft. Rucker after dark, where Miles signed in before midnight and dropped off a few things before the whole crew made our way to a hotel in Daleville.
Notes:
-the Grand Canyon is truly as awesome as everything you've heard. And then some. The next time I get there, I want to actually get down inside the thing, really spend some time there. More than just a few quick pics, anyways.
-after peeing where I have (namely, Cambodia), I find toilet seat covers absolutely ridiculous. If it's really that bad, I'll just hover.
Adventure continued next post
Day 1 - We drove by the Spruce Goose (the largest airplane ever built...out of wood no less) on our way to the coast and ran into our cousin Kirk! He volunteers at the Evergreen Aviation Museum on Thursdays, a fact I was completely ignorant of. It was SO COOL and random to see him and get some sweet VIP tours through a B-17 and the Spruce Goose's cockpit!
Night 1 - Camping just south of Crescent City, CA. Beer, beginning-of-the-trip-excitement, slideshow from Iraq. Good times.
Day 2 - We leisurely check out some redwoods, including driving through one of them. Gorgeous, gentle giants. Lunch with my friend Hillary in Arcata (mmm Divine Swine! In the plaza, near the middle of town...some of the most delicious pork and tea I've ever tasted).
Night 2 - Sleepover at Aunt Robin's! We got there at around 11pm but Aunt Robin was game to stay up and drink with us until 3am!
Day 3 - Brunch with Aunt Robin, Uncle Jeff, Reid, Madeleine, Howard and Michele (Howard and Miles were 'sampling' Red Breast whiskey even though it was morning...5pm somewhere, right?), and then we set off through the desert. We ate at In-N-Out, amazing good food, simple menu, and Cherie had never been.
Night 3, Day 4, Night 4 - Who needs a hotel room in Vegas? We didn't! We rolled in around 10pm, met up with our cousin Stephanie (who drove down from Cedar City, UT, her current hometown), and did Vegas right! (Or did it do us?) That night Steph and I rocked the slots (I won $20 which I promptly spent on overpriced alcohol in the Irish bar), the free drinks, and all. The next morning we were all a little worse for wear, but managed to get food into our bellies and wander around until the mid-afternoon when we could finally (like chumps) check into some hotel rooms...hey, YOU go 48 hrs in Vegas sans bed and shower! After a deep afternoon nap, we all woke up and did it again. Hooray for slots-I won more money! Boo for 3-card poker...I lost more money than I won in slots! But dang that Lucio, the dealer, was cute! Hooray for $19 foot-long rum drinks! And I finally got to dance...at some bar right on the strip that closed around 5 or 6am. With foreigners. I swear I met more Europeans in Vegas than other Americans. It's like I never left (Europe). Solid.
Day 5 - Stephanie and I parted ways somewhere early that morning (she woke me up to say goodbye), and the road-trippers and I finally hit the road around noon.
Night 5 - We made it to the Grand Canyon right around sunset (we bought the $25 entrance pass from the hottest park ranger any of us had ever seen...truth. Just ask my brother...), and then found a campsite in the park. I passed out at 9pm after 2 1/2 beers...let's just say I had a lot of fun in Vegas (note: not Las Vegas, just Vegas. Those of us in the know...know). So I missed the part where Miles, Phil and Cherie met Steve and Wendi, the just-married couple camping next door to us doing the reverse road trip as us (Texas - Grand Canyon - Vegas - the Redwoods). Whatever. I was refreshed to help drive the next morning.
Day 6, Night 6 - 22 straight hours of driving, 3 states (AZ, NM, and TX), and about 1,300 miles from the Grand Canyon to Kilgore, East TX. We arrived around 7am. Mmm breakfast burritos with the coppers. Which meant we went through most of Texas in the dark. Good riddance.
Day 7 - Kilgore and Longview TX. Miles bought an ATV. And a trailer to put it on. It was an all-day ordeal. Phil, Cherie and I were quite surly by the end of it. But he got a good deal from his buddy's father-in-law!
Night 7 - Hotel in Shreveport, Louisiana. A pool, a lukewarm hot tub, lots of beers, IHOP, and comfy beds. Surliness subsided.
Day 8 - After all that, knocking out the rest of Lousiana, all of Mississippi, and lots of Alabama (along seemingly uninhabited country roads) was no sweat. We ate at some Mexican restaurant whose menu misleadingly featured enticing photographs of delicious mixed drinks and beers, but which in actuality had no alcohol on the premises. Counties going dry? In this day and age? Guess that's the south for ya. We arrived at Ft. Rucker after dark, where Miles signed in before midnight and dropped off a few things before the whole crew made our way to a hotel in Daleville.
Notes:
-the Grand Canyon is truly as awesome as everything you've heard. And then some. The next time I get there, I want to actually get down inside the thing, really spend some time there. More than just a few quick pics, anyways.
-after peeing where I have (namely, Cambodia), I find toilet seat covers absolutely ridiculous. If it's really that bad, I'll just hover.
Adventure continued next post
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