Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Best. Weekend. EVER! (Until the next, that is)!

Thursday would have been a perfect day except for the weather. Meh, it's Oregon in the springtime. Which, I've decided, is the perfect metaphor for life: it may be sunny for now, but 5 minutes later it will be pouring and you'll be soaked. Oregonians know this, so we're always prepared (or should be) and we don't hesitate to soak up every second of sunshine, because who knows how long it'll stay? I digress. I started at Tasty & Sons for brunch with Mara and Lauren. I can speak to the tasty (mmmmmboy! the pork cutlets melted in my mouth!), but where were the sons? Then on to a hair appointment with Chris which was like an interview for him at a new salon in the Pearl. He ROCKED it: I love my hair and he got the job! Awesomeness continued when I met up with Megan to hang out and we proceeded to cook, I mean uncook a raw food meal. WOW! A bunch of veggies and spices and herbs and sauces and lettuce, and it was actually pretty darn yummy. Following that, Chris and I headed over to the party of the century: Guidos (& guidettes) vs. Hipsters! Instant Jersey Shore recipe: hot new haircut + short shorts + gobs of bronzer + drawn-on Italia tattoo = one hot Snooki, if I do say so myself! ;)

Friday
started out with Helser's on Alberta for breakfast with Mara and John (Mara's a huge breakfast/brunch fanatic). All I can remember is: crumpets!! But they were delicious! That night my mom, stepdad and I headed over to our favorite island happy hour spot, Shenanigan's (inside the Red Lion). If you're feeling sassy and classy...this isn't the place for you. If your mom is buying, it's barely acceptable. Ok ok, maybe if BOTH bridges collapse and you somehow find yourself stuck on Hayden Island (Jantzen Beach)...no, I'd still say: swim! I guess I felt I couldn't end the night there, so I forced my mom to drive us over to Backstage, (off of Hawthorne, behind the Bagdad), a gorgeous McMenamin's I've been hearing about for awhile but which was finally introduced to me by Hannah last week. Pool + guest appearance by Doug + most gorgeous mural in a bar EVER = WIN!

Saturday meant shopping! Hooray capitalism! My mom and I went to Bridgeport Village and the Woodburn Outlet Mall because we are classy like that! I got some shoes, some shirts, a raincoat, a headlamp, a radio, a waterbottle...did I mention I'm going to Africa in 43 days?!?! AH! I really need to read up more on Niger, as my current talking points (it's 80% desert! they're poor!) just aren't cutting it. As I was watching Sex and the City the movie with a big ol' glass of (boxed) wine that evening, I was summoned to Blow Pony, the big gay party at Rotture that I've never gotten around to getting to. So I got myself all dolled up in my drag queen/Katy Perry get-up and I'm so glad I went! Sophia, Sam, Eryn, Chris, Charlie, drag queens, dance music: hells yeah!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Welcome to the world, new little cousin Isabella Selah McFarland!

16 days until Miles gets here!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Riding High

Whirlwind.

Thursday: GRE. I went into it cursing the day I signed up for it and feeling underprepared. I left pretty stoked that I got higher than the average (on the quantitative part) of the incoming 2009 class of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service's Master of Science in Foreign Service program. Can you spot the nerd? I didn't do better on the verbal part (I'm the shame of English majors everywhere), but I think I did GOOD ENOUGH! Yaay!

Next up, Peace Corps potluck, where I met fellow invitees, nominees, and RPCVs (returned Peace Corps peeps). One of the gals was leaving for Kenya in 10 days! (So, I guess, in about a week now)! I learned about things I should definitely take (a French-press coffee maker, a headlamp, a shortwave radio, good-smelling candles, rechargeable batteries) and things I shouldn't (thousands of q-tips...I'll be able to get them there). I even saw two people I knew from a past life: Jon and Charlie, both from OSU, both from the residence halls (AKA "dorms" to laypeople). They (and everyone else I met) were so awesome!! I was definitely in good company, and got even more excited for this crazy adventure! The very next morning, I had a facebook message from a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger right now...OMG this is really happening!

That night, buzzing from all the excitement, I met up with some coworkers and friends for some much-needed beverage. Thank you, Kelly's and Shanghai Tunnels, for being EXACTLY what I needed (and friends, for being awesome and fun and supportive)!

Friday: drive to Russia! Yes that's right, my mom and I woke up and drove, first to Hood River where we stopped for a bite and a beer at the Full Sail Brewery, then on to Moscow, Idaho for my lovely little cousin Erin's graduation from college! It was the perfect weekend, full of great family and fun friends ("bienvenidas a la familia!" I would say, explaining our craziness to Erin's unsuspecting friends). I spent most of the drive back in Aunt Beth's Mustang. We had the top down and I got a tan! I also got $20 by spotting the longhorn sheep before she saw them. BooYAH!

It's smooth sailing from here. My job's going down to part-time, my brother's coming home sometime in June, and coordinating a Cali trip is my biggest 'worry' besides acquiring all the things I'll need for Niger. iPod, check, next big purchase: a pair of Chacos!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Fellow Niger PCVS, you out there?

Life's been pretty surreal lately. I think and talk about Niger only in social situations when people pepper me with dozens of questions. Other than that, I'm trying to focus on more pressing matters. I'm taking the GRE later this week! I was nuts to sign up for this, and I'm just hoping to come out the other end with an average score, above-average seems too much to hope for at this point. I have to finish reading my book by the end of this week, and I've started thinking about packing (what shoes and clothes and things will I need? I just bought an Oregon t-shirt at the Saturday Market yesterday, on Sunday). And family, friends and Portland- and America-themed adventures are keeping me busy too!

Friday I hung out with cousins Kirk & Sue, Kate and Kyle in Salem. We went to the dump, Home Depot, and for lunch we went to a Mexican restaurant and then got a Belgian waffle and a cannoli for dessert (not at the Mexican restaurant). I need to start running. Next week. Saturday I went to a 'Mothers and Others' brunch and then hung out in SE. It was gorgeous! Mara and I met up with some of her friends on Mississippi for Amnesia Brewery fare, where I got a yummy pint and a spicy sausage with sauerkraut and spicy mustard. It was awesome! Then she and I volunteered as the concessions people for a play. Portland Playhouse's production of Radio Golf was incredible! The acting was good, the set design was cool ("you're such a theater nerd" said Mara), and the setting was intimate and awesome (in an old church, a thrust stage). I miss you, the theater! Then we met up with John and went out to the Aalto Lounge. Rock it, Portland!

To continue the Portland did-it list: last Tuesday I checked out the Rialto (nice old sports bar), the Tube (a classic-the yummiest cheap well drinks around), and the Boiler Room where we sang karaoke! Carly Simon's You're so vain is my go-to karaoke tune. Mara and I sang a duet, and apparently we don't know the lyrics to Telephone as well as we thought we did. Damn. And a sushi restaurant opened on the first floor of our building: Sushi Sakura is yummy, pretty cheap, and even cheaper for us since John now works there and gives us deals!

My job got extended, so after this week I'll be working part-time basically up until when I leave. Which has its pluses and minuses, but I think the good outweighs the bad: I'll stay busy, and as John says, "Beer don't buy itself!" Yesterday, Mother's Day, Alisha hosted a fabulous brunch (featuring 'Marc's Brunch Munch, a delicious new dish created by Marc-"you should open up a food cart!"), so I skipped part of work to hang with Aunt Beth, Barb & Nick, my mom, Alisha and Marc. It was excellent. Mimosas are the best invention ever. Now here I am at the beginning of another work week, so excited for my roadtrip to Moscow (Idaho) on Friday, and wondering where all the other Niger July 2010 Peace Corps Volunteers are! I guess they're not as obsessed as I am: I check facebook groups and the Peace Corps Wiki almost daily for news, even though I already got my Invitation, the biggest news of all. I'm not too worried: I'll meet them eventually. Just like how my mom's been checking out Niger on Google Earth. I haven't, because I figure: I'll be there! I'll get my fill soon enough!

Things to look forward to:

-Moscow (countdown: 5 days)
-Miles (probably coming around June 10th, so, countdown: 1 month)
-Niger (countdown: a shade less than 2 months)