I'm in Niger!

I don't even know where to start! Life here is so different than the US, from what we eat (rice and sauce, mainly), to where we sleep (outside under bug nets and the most beautiful sky I've ever seen, unless it's raining), to where I poop (in a hole in the ground). I'm having a lot of fun, and the other trainees are very fun. I'm taking Hausa classes and trying to keep my level of French up. It's a lot to take in but I'm rocking it! Today I find out my post: where I'm going to live and work for the next 2 years! I'm nervous but very excited. We are training in a town called Hamdallaye (from the Arabic "thanks be to God"), outside of Niamey, the capital. We've gotten to go into Niamey a few times on the weekends to shop and/or eat and drink good food (I got a hamburger, milkshake, pizza, and fish here, but they were definitely special treats). I love getting mail, but don't need any packages yet. I'm reading a lot and thinking a lot, having ups and downs, but I've stayed pretty healthy. I go running sometimes in the early morning with some of the other trainees, and have even led a yoga session or two! I had bacteria in my intestines, but some antibiotics cleared it right up! I've seen a few camels, but no giraffes yet. This weekend we're going to visit our sites (alone, for 4 days) and then do a 10-day immersion in a Hausa-speaking town with 2 other volunteers and 1 of our language teachers. Should be exciting! Until the next time, sai hankuri (have patience)!

Thank you!

I'm off! 4.5 hours from now I'm going to wake up to phly to Philly and start this crazy Peace Corps adventure. I'm so grateful for the ones who helped fill my iPod with music (Hannah, Mara, Andrew, Charlie, Steve, Megan and Chelsea!), the ones who celebrated with me this next great step, the ones who support me through it all and have kept me present, living in the moment, in Oregon, up until the very last second! But most especially, I'm so grateful to my mom! I'd be lost and a million times less prepared without her. I owe her money when I get back and an island when I strike it rich (someday). I'm excited right now, and I'm excited that I'm still excited. Sure I'm a little nervous about bucket baths for the next 2.25 years, but for the most part I can't wait. It's been a long time coming, (at least it's felt like that), and I'm just glad the day is finally here! I'm sure I forgot to pack some essentials, but that's what I have you people for! Care packages!!

If you're reading this right now, thank you!! I'll post updates as often as I can, and keep in touch: even if I can't see you or hear from you every day, I'm still thinking about and loving on you!

Goodbye Portland, it's been real. MWAH!

Sucking the Marrow out of Portland

I'm partying like a crazy person from now until 10 days from now. I've had a few parties at the floating home, I'm eating at food carts or Saturday Market or bars galore, picnics at Laurelhurst Park or birthday parties at Mara's...this is the good life. My last days in Portland are filled with: good weather, yummy beverages and food, great friends, fun strangers/new friends, world cup games, etc. Needless to say, adventures abound.

The weirdness of leaving for 2 years is beginning to set in. I've given myself free license to eat all the veggies, fruits, meat, junk food, and other delicious sundries I can get my hands on (guessing it's a pretty safe bet that I won't be able to find sushi in Niger). I'm starting to feel queasy at the thought of not seeing these people for a spell. I get all moody, but then I just grab a friend (and a drink) and keep on keepin' on! I'm filling my schedule for my last 8 days with: Doug's play, coworker happy hour, drinks and dinner with Bart, STEVE!!!, errands and shopping with my mom, filling my iPod with music from friends, world cup games, beer, wine, friends and coworkers, and sleep (but only if I can squeeze it in). :) And then there's Philadelphia with Tab and Michael Faris and Jenny Balisteri!

Images of the past few weeks that will stay with me for awhile (whether I'd like them to or not): running into a bachelorette party with Miles at Dixie Tavern (safe to say, the first and last time I'll ever frequent that joint). Strawberry daiquiris and yummy 'cuisine a la Dau' at the floating home. Drinking wine with Rachel watching my new favorite show, Noah's Arc.

I'm so excited, but worried, a little. Worried that Niger isn't ready for all this jelly! Hey-eyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!

Newsflash:

Camping with my brother and his friends in Cascadia: incredible.

The whole world (or even country) isn't a liberal-land-hipster-haven like Portland, Oregon. Duh, but, still, sometimes it's shocking to be reminded of this fact. For example: some people wouldn't hang out with openly gay members of the military (provided the Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal goes all the way through) outside of work because of what other people would say about them ("if he's hanging out with a f*****t, he MUST be gay!"). I started crying, but I'm sure the 1/2 a gallon of Carlo Rossi I'd drunk that night helped with that. But, are you kidding me?!?!?!?! If thinking that everyone deserves a fair break and friends no matter what their sexual orientation is makes me a bleeding heart liberal then I am a BLEEDING HEART MOTHERFUCKIN' LIBERAL!!! America is awesome, but also fucked up and slow-moving and backwards. Fuck it. I'm out. (2 weeks from today, like WHAT?!?!?!)

Party down.

Hot damn!

The 4th of July is going to be EPIC this year, because I just scheduled my flight to Philadelphia for 8:40 am on July 5th!!! This is really happening!! I am going to be in Niger a month from today... :O

Let's see, I've ordered a few pairs of shoes online which are on their way to me (Chaco's and a pair of Keens, which is based in Portland, who knew?), and I really should get serious about packing. AH!!

Miles comes home on Thursday and then we're having a big kegger here at the house on Sunday. Aunt Robin and Madeleine and Reid are going to be here!! Wahoo! Get ready, No Po, for the craziest party you've ever seeeeen (I've got 2 outfits)!

I went to Goodfoot with Alisha last week, Momo's with Hannah, (we also drank some Rogue beer down at the Saturday Market, holla!), Yur's awhile back, some dive bar downtown with Charlie, Helser's again with Megan and Belinda, (who's not imaginary...she's real!)...sucking the marrow out of Portland up until the last minute (yum, foodcarts)!

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!

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!

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)

Government Passport, check and check!

I started out the day going to Passport Immigration Photos on Broadway & Glisan, to get some passport photos. Whoa. Just a few days ago (Saturday night at midnight) two people got hit and killed by a bus right outside the place. There were balloons and pictures and candles. Sobering. The lady who took my picture was really nice-she's originally from Bulgaria and came to the US following her brother who was escaping from communism. She said Bulgaria's a nice place to visit (good food!), but not so good for the people who live there ($2-300 per month, which I guess is better than Cambodia...$20 per month income). What can we do? She liked that I was going into the Peace Corpse (how she pronounced it), and told me to come see her when I got back. Why not?

Then at around 6pm I was walking briskly to the UPS store to mail off my passport and Niger visa applications, when on the way in I bumped into the UPS guy, who took my envelope (Peace Corps paid the postage) and TOTALLY made my day. It was that easy: something going perfectly right. I've been all discombobulated since I got my invitation on Sunday. I can't focus on anything, I feel like I have a million things to do (almost true) before I go, and I feel like I'm trying to move through mud. Now I guess I've got to start learning Hausa and Zarma, some local languages in Niger for which the Peace Corps has so awesomely provided me online lessons. Rock rock on.

Niger!

I'm so excited...I got my invitation today to be a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger! I'm going to be Community & Youth/English Language Educator, which means I won't be working in a classroom, but with community members and kids in after-school groups, tutoring clubs, etc. WOW! It's going to be so much better than what I was expecting-a huge challenge but an awesome adventure! I'm going to be reading up on Niger a lot between now and July 7th! Here's a start:

Niger Wikipedia Article

Current Affairs with China

Can't wait!

...and waiting...

Are you ready for the whirlwind?
Are you totally prepared?
Are you scared?
Jump in.

One Tetanus Shot Away...

...from a Peace Corps invitation! I got word last weekend that they're reviewing my medical file and that's all I'm missing. I'm going to hear within a week or two, I feel it! I just have to head to Safeway tomorrow for the booster ("Yes I'll have a pint of ice cream, a bottle of wine, and one Tetanus booster please!"). I can't wait! (for the invitation, not the needle...I'm not masochistic!)

Otherwise, I'm reading sexy books (Game Change), hanging with family (Uncle Lee: "I don't care what a person's sexuality is as long as they don't scare the horses." Aunt Jeannie: "My mom was the best read person who ever existed!" Alisha: "I'm moving to SE. I'm awesome!"), drinking delicious wine (we cracked the 2002 Vieux Magon from Tunisia that I lugged across the Med to France and my mom brought from France to here...it was YUMMY!), and planning for a kickass last hurrah across the West (Moscow, ID; PDX, OR; Santa Cruz, CA; SoCal? Reno? Seattle?) to span weeks if not months. People are like: "You just got back!" I'm like: "Peace out, Sarah Palin!"

I went to Joel's first birthday party. I hope he has 99 more. Hannah and I bought him books...can't start 'em too young! Gotta inspire today's youth to intellectual greatness! One of the books was fuzzy-hooray tactile! He was about the cutest thing I've ever seen. Definitely got my kid fix for the...year. :)

Did I also mention that last weekend involved brunch 3 days in a row?? Mimosas, bloody Marys, eggs, sausage, smoked trout, good company...could a weekend get any better? (Bijou Cafe, Broder, and Jake's Grill were the venues lucky enough to be graced by my presence)

That's all for now...hopefully I'll have big big news coming soon soon soon!

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
  
• ...
• ...
• ???
  

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...

Olympics Report

I've been watching the Olympics. I can't help it. I thought it would be different this year, (you know, that whole patriotic we're-better-than-you bs is getting so old), but it isn't. I still love it...I think I'm addicted to Bob Costas. There's something about those cheesy human interest stories that suck me in and get the waterworks going! AWWWWW!!!! :-)

Lingering questions:

1. Were those real natives or actors in the Opening Ceremony? Even if they were real, how many more were/are protesting the games?

2. I get that everyone was freaked out when that Georgian luger died, so they moved the men's start down the track 600 meters or so, to the original women's start. But WHY did they have to move the women's start down to the junior's start? I mean, what's the scientifical reason behind that? Would it be the end of the world if the men and women (gasp!) started from the SAME start? Sexism. Plain, simple, outdated. Does anyone want to dispute this? Can anyone?

3. Evan Lysacek is SO hot!! But does he like women, or men? He's dated women in the past, but, so did Will Truman...And come on! How confusing were those feathers on his hands??

4. How rich are these guys? Like, seriously: what's the median income of olympians' families? MY parents weren't shuttling me up to the mountain every weekend...gear and lift tickets and gas are expensive, yo! Maybe I'm just bitter: freaking out because as I get older and older I realize I have NO ACTUAL MARKETABLE NOTEWORTHY TALENTS! ...But, couldn't I also possibly be on to something here? Somebody back me up! Where were my private ice skating lessons as a kid? ...I'm planning on having a kid JUST to preen them for the olympics, a la Jimmy MacElroy in Blades of Glory, and live vicariously through them, a la Amanda Wingfield. If your kids grow up and don't hate you, you did something boring!

That's about it from this neck of the woods. Sure I've checked out a few hot spots around town (The Farm Cafe, Valentine's, Someday Lounge -- DELICIOUS!, fun, and classy respectively), but other than that I'm keeping a low profile, working, and reading lots--my mom's cousin just mailed me her extra copy of French Women Don't Get Fat...hmm...I'm not sweating the small stuff.

I'm Falling in Love...

...with Portland! (I hope you didn't assume that I was capable of really truly falling in love à la les contes de fées and whatnot...) The more I discover and get to know this place Portland, the more I love it. Bars, the political scene, long-time residents, transplants, 'old-lady plays', Jewish mothers, etc. Funny, because as much as I love to leave it, I find myself liking living here more and more...

Thanks to coworkers and good friends I'm indulging in the bar scene (this evening: Produce Row Cafe, 2nd and Oak on the 'East Bank,' gasp!). In general, I'm embracing the 'quasi-hippie half-assed trendy liberal' scene that is Portland (and me by extension?) Am I where I'm from or is where I from me? Whoa. Trippy to think about. I guess I'm getting in touch with my liberal roots (I LOVE when my mom complains that MSNBC is 'not liberal enough')! All this coming from a post-'uber'-Christian. Yikes. And headed into the Peace Corps. But of course! TOMORROW! I'm mailing in all my medical forms to the Peace Corps. Major hurdle. Overcome, with the help of my 'ceases-to-be-amazing' mom. As always.

I am Oregonian, through and through, no matter where I go.

I leave you with this:

YES ON 66 and 67!!! Oregon is NOT Massachusetts!

DAN in JaPAN!

Trying to get medically cleared for the Peace Corps without health insurance...impossible? Nearly. Humbling, absolutely. I'm so close I can taste it--thanks to the Nara clinic, which is for Native Americans, but they served me anyways, and mostly for free. I'm still flabbergasted that I got all the fancy tests and vaccines (suck it polio!) for just a $20 copay...being poor and uninsured for the win! But really, they're one bright spot in the black hole that is health care in America. 'Obama! Get on it!' (accompanied by angry old man fist shake)

My old dentist is only doing 5 or 6 of the 10 fillings the other dentist thought I needed, so that's good. Thursday half my face was numb and my new nickname around the office is Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face. It could be worse; at least I'm not the Joker. I'm well on my way. By the end of next week my medical packet should be in the certified mail, and THAT will be my first victory of 2010!

I dropped my online PCC class today. That was a tough decision, because I really do care about my future, but I've got other bills to pay right now (did I mention how much fun the south of France was last year? Did I?). So I'm officially not a college student anymore. Again. I'm still getting used to the '20-something post-college pre-career underemployed station in life I'm currently rocking. Good friends, cool coworkers, and new Portland discoveries (most recently, Habibi, the best baba ganoush ever; Tube, a divey bar with good music and $2 wells) all help. And waffles. Tomorrow we're having waffles for the first time ever in this house, as my mom just bought a waffle maker. Mmmmboy! As Lauren at work pointed out, it's the little things. I got a kick out of a kid who went to Japan named Dan. DAN in JaPAN! Hilarious. I was cracking up. My coworkers think I'm crazy. Guess the nickname fits on many levels...

Another awesome thing worth mentioning is my return to the theater! House manager of a 2-woman musical that's part of the Fertile Grounds festival, woot woot! Check it out: The Only Way out is Through I just saw it tonight and it's totally cute, and a little crazy. It may explain your mother to you. So that'll be my Friday and Saturday nights over the next three weekends.

F#@$ Christmas!

I spent Christmas eve on an uncomfortable chair in the Dallas Ft. Worth airport, I didn't see my luggage until a few days later, and I ripped my favorite (read: practically only) pair of jeans in the crotch. But my alcoholic family just drank a lot (Bloody Marys, Crown & Amp, a Miles specialty, rum and cokes, fruity things, you name it one of us probably drank it) and ate well (Black Angus, Morocco in Epcot, Shogun) and got through it all somehow (Robot Chicken's Beast and the Beauties helped). We saw Avatar, Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba, and a manatee fart. Seriously, I saw a manatee fart, and Miles said he even smelled it. I even saw my ridiculous future.

I made my brother some pretty sweet 'mostly French music mixes' for Christmas. "Making a great mix is a great feeling" says Andrew. Here they are:

• Les filles adorent -PZK
• Foux du fafa -Flight of the Conchords
• Ca m'enerve -Helmut Fritz
• Meme pas fatigue -Magic System ft Khaled
• Ibiza (Marchesini & Farina Remix) -Desaparecidos vs Walter Master J)
• Everytime we touch -David Guetta
• Sens interdit -Ysa Ferrer
• No future in the past -Nadiya & Kelly Rowland
• Infinity 2008 (Klaas remix) -Guru Josh Project
• Release me (Cahill club mix) -Agnes
• C'est beau la bourgeoisie -Discobitch
• Love is gone -David Guetta ft Chris Willis
• Citoyen du monde -Tunisiano ft Zaho
• Celle qu'il te faut -Kenza Farah ft Nina Sky
• A la bien -Soprano
• Jai ho (DJ Fisun remix) -The Pussycat Dolls

• Flashback -Calvin Harris
• Evacuate the dancefloor -Cascada
• Ready for the floor -Hot Chip
• No dice -Beirut
• We are golden (Calvin Harris remix) -Mika
• Animal (Punks jump up remix) -Miike Snow
• Lex -Ratatat
• Say what you want -Texas ft Wu Tang Clan
• Uprising (Does it offend you, yeah? remix) -Muse
• 1901 -Phoenix
• Romance (Max Moroldo and Paul and Luke reloaded mix) -Fluxx & Lola
• How soon is now (extended version) -David Guetta ft Julie McKnight)
  

So yeah. Here's hoping 2010 is all sorts of awesome. Tomorrow I'm going to be a college student again!

Survivor.

I love it. I love everything about it. Getting out into 'the nature.' Having an adventure (adventure, I've figured out, is what I'm all about). Matching yourself up against complete strangers and seeing where the chips fall. Seeing if you've got what it takes to outwit the other players, outlast the elements, and be strong enough in yourself and who you are to not give up even when you're starving, even if it's monsoon-ing, even if you miss your friends, pillows, and other comforts from home SO MUCH! Also, it's always so interesting and controversial and usually full of hotties! Hopefully it will be still be going strong the day I've got an awesome-enough resume behind me to make it on the cast. Sigh. I mean, 'Hells yes! It's going to happen!'

It's interesting to see how alike and unlike Survivor is to 'real life' (whatever that is...the more I live it, the more I wonder what people exactly mean by that...it seems pretty boring sometimes)...for instance, did I 'like' Russell? Hell no! At first. But then I just HAD to respect his mad skillz (with a z), and was really rooting for him in the end. Should people like that really 'win' in real life? Hmm. I'm starting to think I have questionable morals...

I absolutely hate drama in my life...I try to avoid it, and I get all weird and pissy and bottled up when it comes my way. I'm a pretty relaxed and chill person, but I think drama is absolutely delicious on Survivor! I love watching complete strangers claw it out in some exotic locale, and I still think I could step up to that challenge and rock it. But it's not a true microcosm of society. It's all about the ratings, baby! Survivor is not real life. (Reality TV was never real) And real life is all about the Benjamins, I mean, sleeping at night. Right? I can't say. I'm young yet, I've got time to figure it out. That's another thing: there are many realities, many philosophies that people bring to the table, and to see them all clash and intermingle and coexist and eat or be eaten is awesome to watch, but how much does it really teach us about this 'real life' thing? I can't say. It'll be interesting to watch next season (the 20th...God I'm old), and see if a Villian or a Hero wins the whole thing. Based on how the last season went, I have no idea where to put my money.

In other news...well, I'm writing about Survivor here because 'real life' is too boring and complicated and aggravating and stressful and monotonous and blah to remark upon. So there. Orlando, here I come!

PDX means Portland, duh!

(That was for Jay from Kansas. ATL, LAX, PDX, I mean, come ON! We're kind of a big deal...aren't we?)

So I've been gallivanting about town having a lot of firsts lately, here's the report card:

Clyde Common - One of Andrew's faves, Thursday night a bunch of my workmates and I headed here for a goodbye happy hour for Dennis and Emily. TEAR! We ordered stiff drinks to stave off the sadness. I sampled a sour bourbon&cassis number, (cassis=blackcurrant liquor from France) a Christmas-y gin&tonic&then some, and something called Breakfast of Champions, with calvados (apple liquor from Normandy, where I lived last summer). All these familiar French liquors got me feeling nostalgic and thirsty...guess they're living up to their rep as a 'European-style tavern.' Yum!

Embers - After happy hour came happier hour! Some of us headed to the oldest gay bar in Portland...I can't believe I'd never been before! Cheap drinks, free drinks (!), dancing and oversharing with coworkers=a win!

Christmas Ships - OK, not a first, but a Portland Christmas classic! Friday night we hosted the first of 2 parties chez moi to watch the Christmas ships parade. If you've lived in Portland for awhile, you should know about these (even if you don't)! Lots of great drink and good food and a random smattering of my mom's, my stepdad's and my friends and coworkers made for a nice night. This Friday (December 18th) promises to be an even wilder and crazier time, with at least double the guests and double the awesome! Swing on by if you'll be in Portland!

Portland Christmas Revels - Saturday night Hannah and her fam invited me along to the Christmas revels, a very unique, really cool, and totally Portland celebration of the winter solstice! Singing, a famous fiddler, Irish dancing, stag's horns, sing-a-longs, mummers, oh boy! I saw a guy with a wizard's cloak.

Hotel DeLuxe - After the revels, Hannah, Mike, Tone, Tone's friends and I headed half a block up to this snazzy little hotel for after-revel drinks. The doorman was falling down on his job, so the door kept getting stuck open, which, on a freezing night, is kind of a big deal. I couldn't resist ordering a cocktail called the Tennessee Williams, with bourbon and sweet tea-flavoured vodka, among other things. Hello! It was amazing, even though, as Hannah pointed out, it tasted of bitterness and disappointment. [ :) Theater jokes.]

Virginia Cafe - One of the oldest bars in Portland, even though they recently had to change locations (93 years in one place, just moved to across the street from the library in 2008), this was one of John Sugie's first suggestions when I asked him about 'must-hits' around town. Doug and I went to lunch there today and I had delicious chili, salad and cheesy bread, and a $3 Bloody Mary because it was before 2:00pm! Spicy, tasty and strong...everything a BM should be! :) Now that's what I call a good deal!