Category: blahblah

Chris (Lolly) came down to see our new place and to see Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet play on Saturday. Even though he’d just seen them in Bellingham 2 nights before (at the Nitelite, which he raved about), he was up for another show. But before we could see the show we had to find something to do.

we walked Alberta to show him the neighborhood then sat puzzled, unable to think of what to do, or what was happening. It was the first time we had any leisure time. Luckily Chris was able to find a snipped about the Multnomah County Bike Fair, so we had to see that. It was awesome. Bikes galore. And we may have been the preppiest folks there, but it was fun. Almost as fun as Tour de Fat back in 2003.

Finally, after some food, we hit up the Goodfoot for the show. We arrived a little late for a change which worked out well. We got corner booth seats and were able to watch from comfort for most of the show. Towards the end, as the crowd finally started gravitating towards the band, we had to climb up onto the seat backs, but it worked fairly well.

Chris has probably seen Skerik in one incarnation or another around Seattle some 50 times. This was only my second in as many groups. The septet was a little more mellow than I expected and almost traditional (music-wise) in a good way. A cover of Mingus’ Moanin’ was excellent, and finished with a great insistent hardness that I expected from more of the songs. The show was great, but at one point I looked over and both Michelle and Chris had their eye’s closed – so I offered to leave a bit early.

Barley started spazzing out last night just before an attractive couple carrying chips and dip entered our front door. They asked where we wanted the food, and apparently the blank stares from Michelle and I, lounging, made them realize they were in the wrong home. While it was hard to turn away chips and dip, we weren’t really in the entertaining mood. “…Uh, I think you have the wrong house.”

Following Matt’s lead, I wanted [move] to also congratulate Meghan on finishing her masters [to] degree while also working and planning for a wedding. I’m only taking 1 class and was about to [portland] fold under the pressure this term. Congrats!

A warm congratulations to Andrew & Holly who eloped to Palm Island in the Grenadines. We’d heard rumors of something like this coming out of Yakima, but the couple didn’t drop the bomb until they were on their way out of town.

Best wishes to you both and have a wonderful honeymoon. There’s excuses to make when you get back.

For most of my life, the smell immediately following a rain has been sage brush. It’s a lovely odor that is loaded with memories.

In Portland, I haven’t noticed any bold an immediate smells after rain events. I imagine this is largely due to the duration of rains, but the smells are usually organic, biotic; the smell of saturated soils, decomposition, and leaf mold.

Yesterday after a brief rain I stepped out into the back yard and noticed a strong and pleasant smell. The smell of thai food wafting up the alleyway. The after-rain smell here is thai food! I suppose if you have to replace something as wonderful as sage brush, thai food is a pretty good option.

I heard a story about a couple that went to see the Audioslave concert here in Portland the night after the actual show. The guy taking the tickets was incredulous.

Signed and initialed dozens of documents today. Closing documents.

When giving blood this morning, my phlebotomist was all business. No jokes, no side conversations, and no doddling. I suppose I appreciate it, but working with people that can work and joke at the same time is much more pleasant. Sure, she was efficient, but where’s the fun?

Needless to say, I bled quickly and got out of there. My attendant’s sense of urgency wore of on me. Well, sort of. After I finished my fresh donuts. I give blood on Thursday mornings because that’s when they have donuts.

The water from the fountains in Cramer Hall at Portland State taste like my saxophone mouthpiece from middle school.

For Michelle’s birthday and a belated celebration of Doug’s, we all made a trip out to Edgefield for some food, beer, and golf. It was a great day for it, so we weren’t the only ones who though it would be a good idea, which meant our tee time wasn’t going to be until 5:30. Luckily, there is plenty to do, so we grabbed a lunch, wandered the grounds, visited the winery, walked the halls, and dodged wedding photographs.

Shortly before our tee time, we picked up our clubs (a wedge and a putter) and introduced Michelle and Debbie to the game (or mindset) of golf. Having never played before didn’t hurt their scores much, and both showed improvement throughout the course of nine holes. Jason, Doug and I, who had played before, showed no improvement and shot inconsistently. Still, it was a blast, and the pitch and put course is excellent.

Following our round of golf, we had dinner at the Black Rabbit. I think we were all surprised at how good the food was, and our rich food and desert finished of a full day.