KP's Visit

KP's visit was fast and furious! He arrived on Friday at 2:00pm and left Sunday at 6:00pm (he tried to leave at 4:00pm but his truck wouldn't start, I hope he made it home).
KP and I met the cow afterwork on Friday for a martini, then we went to Apothek for fries, wine and minimalist atmosphere. We walked from the Pearl to NW21st and spent an hour or so at the tiny Mbar staring out the window at the rain- KP did not want to leave because he would get wet. Who comes to Portland and doesn't pack a light rain jacket? It continued to rain, and the cow and I were prepared, so we made KP join us for a stroll. Within a few steps we rain across the "after life" art on the sidewalk. It had a full bridgeport brewing beer inside. Everyone who walked by bent down, read the title, looked closer but did not steal the beer. One guy went home to get his camera and came back as I was leaving.
We past a barber shop, I stopped because KP was due for a cut, the Museum of Modern Materialism warned you NOT to put any money in the machine! KP was trying to stay dry by hiding in a phone recepticle, it really didn't work. We had dinner and watched the cooks decorate a potato.
KP left with a new tent for his travels in Mexico and a new Timbuktu bag - but he did not PURCHASE a light rain jacket.

Sunshine !!!

I just had to give KP a bit of the Oregon sunshine. He believes that it rains non-stop in Portland. I have to admit, it rained like hell while he was here! When he left - the next morning it was beautiful. Sorry KP but Monday gave us a high of 78 degrees. Sorry you missed it but I am glad you were here!

Smile and someone will smile back!

I guess you could say something was actually smiling at me. As I walked by a gallery in the Pearl, I noticed these two figures. Suddenly I realized as a past them that the edges of my mouth were beginning to upturn. I stopped in my tracks to pay homage to the still figure that made me smile on a rainy-wet day.

Hiatus

As many of you have figured out I have been on a bit of a hiatus. I am gathering some good stuff for all of you regarding PDX and will be back in full force soon.
Watch for the new post after KP's visit - who knows maybe we will do a little drinkin, I will take a few snapshots and then post our belligerence! I know you are all looking forward to that. As I type this I have two newspapers special sections sitting next to me - titled: Spring Guide to Oregon Wineries (The Oregonian) and Drinkipedia (Willamette Week). It is going to be a GOOD weekend!

Have a great memorial weekend!

The 70

Today I decided it was time to take the bus to work. I catch the 70! The cow takes the 41!
The busses are ON TIME, if the schedule says it will arrive at your stop at 7:52 you can pretty much set your watch by it.
I found a seat and looked around, lots of people reading and listening to music. I started reading my book but found I was listening to the conversations the bus driver was having with the patrons as they stepped onto the bus.
A little girl (about 6 or 7) got on with her father. She was wearing a great pink skirt made out of tulleing with ruffles almost all the way to the floor. The bus driver said, "Girls in pink skirts don't have to pay today!" The little girl just smiled, found a seat and enjoyed the ride.
After making a couple of sharp turns the bus came to a halt for a guy running to catch it. The young man was tattooed and very polite. He kept trying to put his money in the machine but the machine would not take it. So, the bus driver said, "If the machine don't work - you ride for free." The guy was elated!
I jumped off the bus at Powell and 12th, this is a very busy intersection. I started walking and suddenly found myself on a deadend industrial street. I had to walk about three blocks back and then two blocks north to be able to walk east about 14 blocks. During the walk I remembered the cow saying something like, "get off at the stop after Powell and 12th." Oh well, live and learn. It was all good though, the sun was shining and who cares if I am late to work.

Work little, play hard

I have said on numerous occasions after a great weekend that "I need to go back to work, so that I can get some rest!" This was just such a weekend. Saturday we loaded up a backpack picnic and headed off to do a little hike. About an hour away is the Silver Falls State Park. We had read that on a single hike of about 8 miles you could see 10 different waterfalls. It was absolutely amazingly astonishingly spectacular. We hiked the Canyon trail first which led you by short, tall, wide and thin falls. The hike followed the creek all the way through the canyon. We started with the North Fall and ended up at the South falls where there is a huge lodge and visitor center with picnic tables. After two hours of hiking we were very hungry, we sat in a field with the stream in front of us and munched our humms/falafel wraps, banana and granola bar - oh yeah...lots of water!
We then needed to get back to the car so we followed the rim trail from the lodge back to the north falls.
About 15 minutes from the park is Silverton. I was a bit astonished that such a small town had parking meters but then found a dime in my pocket and figured it would go towards a good cause. We quickly found a deck overlooking the creek, a glass of wine and some sunshine and discussed the beauty of the day.

Parent Beware

This picture is courtesy of N. Woolley - Sacramento. I do not know where she found it but I love it!

Hey Parents! If you let your kid run around while I am trying to enjoy my breakfast, lunch or dinner - you will be going home with a hyped up kid on caffeine and a puppy that will pee and chew on your slippers.

Revenge is sweet!

Libro Centro Sellwood

Vino

This is my kind of wine shop. If it tastes good - drink it! Bruce (the owner) said it is the only way to live life. Friday night we walked about 8 blocks to VINO! Every friday the wine store turns into the neighborhood hangout. We found ourselves standing at a table and ordered a round - which is really a flight, but it is semi-circular. We had a great time. We met a woman from the neighborhood that has traveled all through Mexico - even Patzcuaro! She was waiting for friends so she stood and drank and chatted with us.
We bought a BOX of wine - I will give a review of that after I drink a bit more. Well, vino calls!

Episcopal

I googled episcopal to catch some irony in the photo and here is what I got:
What does "Episcopal" mean? "Episcopos" is the Greek word for "bishop." Thus "Episcopal" means "governed by bishops." The Episcopal Church maintains the three-fold order of ministry as handed down by the Apostles -- deacons, priests and bishops -- in direct descent, via the laying on of hands, from the original Apostles. By the way, "Episcopal" is an adjective: "I belong to the Episcopal Church." The noun is "Episcopalian": "I am an Episcopalian."

Now Episcopos is the Greek word for bartender and people who are episcopalian are governed by the drink. There continues to be a three-fold order: you order one drink you feel good, two you are feeling better and three or more and you become a bishop. Episcopal is still an adjective but more along the lines of "boy that bloody, rotten, episcopalian chick can really knock'em back!

Earth Day

This is a little late in coming, but I think it is still important to post. I think you could write your own billboard regarding saving the planet. In fact, I invite you to do so. Post it in my comments section.

Praxis Sucks

Saturday morning I awoke at 6:00 am (not by choice). I jumped in the shower, got dressed, ate some toast and had the cow drive me to Portland State University. I am the luckiest person in the world. I got to spend the next SIX hours taking the Praxis II exam which will tell the state of Oregon if I am qualified to teach Social Science.
The first test consisted of 130 multiple choice questions that you had to answer in 120 minutes. Do the math, you had to answer more than a question per minute. I am a relatively fast reader but I am also very detail oreinted and want to make sure I am answering correctly. This type of strategy does not work on the Praxis II - Social Science Content Knowledge exam. After reading the first question several times, I realized I did not know the answer, so I moved on to number two - didn't know that one either. Once I got to number three and had not bubbled in any answers I knew it was time to move on to a new strategy. Read the question, eliminate some of the answers based on how the question was worded and then take an uneducated guess. I somehow answered all of the questions but must say that I do NOT believe I passed this exam. It made me feel stupid and inadequate. One of the questions had to do with the Dawes Act. I knew I had heard of it but had absoluetly no recollection of the acts importance. I don't need to have instant recognition of an arcane act in the classroom. If some kid asked me what the Dawes Act was I would say, "I don't know but I will give you 10 points if you come in tomorrow and tell the whole class what it is."
Once the multiple choice nightmare was over, I had exactly 15 minutes before the next test began - this one was going to be even more exciting. Praxis II - Social Science Essay Evaluation and Analysis. This test is all hand written. When was the last time you physically wrote a paragraph, making sure of spelling, grammar and content? Yeah! Well I not only had to write a paragraph I had to write 5 short essays and 2 extended (long) ones. The format was a little more interesting. The prompt would be either a quote, graph, political cartoon, etc and then the questions usually had three pieces you had to address. For example; there was a quote by MLK from Birmingham Jail regarding law and moral conscience. First you had to describe what the statement meant historically, then you had to explain two political and economic situations occurring during the time of the quote and lastly you had to evaluate how the quote could be used today regarding civil rights. Oh and did I say that you had to do this in approximately 10 minutes if you wanted to be able to answer all of the questions before the time expired.
My hand started cramping after the first short answer. I could barely read my writing and I was afraid to turn the page and see what my next question was.
When the proctor said you have 10 minutes remaining I hadn't even started writing my last long essay. I had been brainstorming how to write it and when those words hit my ears I seriously put pencil to paper. My thought was, I am going to go down getting my money worth. I was damn sure going to make someone read every single word I could possibly put on paper.
When the day was over I was brain dead. I fell fast asleep once I got home and my head hit my pillow. I know I will have to take these tests again but I have learned one thing: don't take both tests on the same day.