Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Going Crazy!

With Luke off adventuring in the DR already, I'm officially as antsy and anxious as can be (well, maybe not...I could probably get a little worse)! I'm checking the Future Peace Corps Volunteers facebook page and the Peace Corps wiki DAILY for any news on that front. April is 2 days away and I'm expecting/hoping/crossing fingers that sometime in that month is when I'll get my invitation. It's comforting to see that many other FPCV (future Peace Corps vols) are in the same boat as me and freaking out accordingly.

What should I do to fill up my time and my mind between now and whenever I'll receive the invitation? I've started a list...
  • Party like a dictator with coworkers & friends
  • Plan more parties
  • Read like a fiend
  • Drink wine and discuss said read books in a book club of sorts
  • Visit Corvallis
  • Lunch and coffee with friends
  • Spend weekends at Aunt Beth's w/Marc & Alisha (occasional appearances by Uncle Val). That family are some of my fave peeps at the momo
  • Drink Bloody Marys at Momo's on lunch breaks
  • Plan awesome family trips for the months of May/June (Moscow, Santa Cruz, Miles coming back to Oregon, EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
  • Start packing? Ha! How about...start thinking about packing...yeah...
  • Start consciously and fully appreciating things like indoor plumbing, central heating, refrigerators (?), friends on the same continent, paved roads, crap TV, the internets, &c. &c. &c.
  • Clean up my 'to-do in Portland' list so far. Still have to get to Holocene and maybe that 21+ mini-golfing John mentioned... :)
  • Dinner and drinks with Hannah and her mum, me and mine
  • Maybe go camping sometime? When the weather gets nicer; I haven't been in awhile
  • ...
  • ...
  • ???

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Lately

The weather's been nice lately, which just makes me wary of what's to come. In like a lamb...

I live on the wrong side of town. I've known this, obviously, for some time (Jantzen Beach is the most disgusting mix of industrial, trashy 'mall,' Vancoovies, and million dollar yachts imaginable...little wonder we hit the bottle so frequently down here). And a beautifully fabulously lazy day in SE yesterday complete with Swedish food, Hamm's, a sunset on a rooftop, and a healthy smattering of hipsters just made it all that much more obvious. (Note: for good Swedish fare and a really cute waitstaff ;), DEFINITELY check out Broder. 3 thumbs up!).

The fair weather has also made increasingly obvious the lack of a bike in my life.

Nerding out - my latest acquisition from putting stuff on hold at the public library, (recommended by Megan), is Career Diplomacy, a book all about my future working in the Foreign Service. [Speaking of my future...yeah, nothing to report. Peace Corps wasn't kidding when they casually dropped the word 'waiting' into their literature a time or two.]

Thoughts and preoccupations of late:
  • the earthquake in Chile. as far as I know, everyone I know is okay, despite the epicenter being super close to Chillan. Their homes, (and subsequent safety) aren't so stable. what can I do? not much from here. But I know of a family or two who could use some help, anyone interested.
  • what will Meryl Streep have to do to win another Oscar? Like, seriously, who will she have to channel? Jesus? Mary? Joseph? All 3 at the same time?
  • I used to think about being a stateswoman on Capitol Hill someday. But do I really want to run in that crowd? I mean, reading A People's History of the US is making me sick, and it's all the Capitalists' fault!
  • I'm so glad I'm not 16 and pregnant. But I'm also so glad MTV made a show about it to remind me how glad I am that I'm not!
  • Evan Lysacek on Dancing with the Stars. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!
Also sampled this weekend:

The Sultan Cafe - hard to find place but made up for it with yummy hookah, which simultaneously makes me feel cool as shit and miss the shit out of my brother. That shit's good shit!

Pope House - yummy bourbons. sweet bathroom. because of the Kentucky Derby, of course.

The Bitter End - I remember a jukebox, some Gogol Bordello and Johnny Cash. "This reminds me of every bar in Wisconsin." quoth the Wisconsinites.

So at least I'm continuing in my goal to get Portland did. I rode the #4 down Mississippi and that's where I want to try next, wallet- and weather-permitting. Did I really start this post out talking about the weather? How depressing...