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Portland-New York love on PONYtales (currently dormant)
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NEW TODAY: Joining the Gym
Okay, not entirely new, since I joined the same gym over a year ago. But I only went a handful of times, and it’s been so long, it feels pretty damn new.
Here’s why I loved it:
First, it was supremely comforting to see all the people at the gym on a Saturday evening. It seems I was not the only person in Portland without a hot date.
Second, the people watching! Not only do you see members of hot local bands and owners of hot local bars (in this case, Ron Tom from rontoms) stripped of all their artifice and sweating it out just like suburban moms on the elliptical machine, but Portland hipsters’ and nerds’ version of workout wear is the best! Some people are just trying to look cool: vintage Asics runners with no support whatsoever, retro sweat bands worn (I guess) unironically, American Apparel running shorts. And some people obviously don’t think about workout “gear”: My favorite fellow workout-er last night was a tall, lanky dude in cutoff skinny corduroys and worn out bowling shoe-style sneakers. That can’t have been the most comfortable outfit for getting active, but he was going to town, stretching with weights and pulleys, doing situps, racing on the treadmill. For some reason, there’s nothing more motivating to me than seeing someone who is so opposite the gym rat stereotype (and there were plenty of those) going fitness crazy.
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NEW TODAY: The Nest
A night out with the girls (Laura and Alisa). We started at Bye and Bye, and decided to bar crawl along Alberta. The next first stop: The Nest. Which smells like a bowling alley inside. We sidled up to this skinny “table” outside – more like a hitching post, and I guess that’s the point since it’s for the horseshoe pits – and the only guy to come talk to us was an unfortunate skinny boy in ridiculous jean shorts and completely fried from who knows what drugs. We didn’t stay long, and took those sexy shadows onward down the street.
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NEW TODAY: Red Room
There’s a reason I’ve never been to the Red Room – it’s on 82nd Avenue. And it’s a typical dive-sports bar (the menu consists of burgers, grilled cheese, and “freedom fries”) randomly tucked between the Stars Motel and a collection of Asian markets, with giant mugshots of famous rebels lining the walls. I’m pretty sure I’ll never return.
But since I was already at 70-something and Halsey when my friend invited me to her see boyfriend’s band, Council Crest (I just noticed their profile photo is one I took, fyi), and was still at a loss as to what my *new* adventure would be today, I hopped the bus to 82nd to check it out. I enjoyed the company of an elderly Chinese man as we waited at the stop for twenty minutes, who kept pointing to every vehicle that approached (none of which ever looked like a bus), I think trying to ask me, “Is that it?” When it finally pulled up, he looked like he’d won the lottery. At the Max overpass, I transferred to a bus that felt like a rolling version of a bad high school party. I didn’t have far to go, but it was all entertaining. Once I took in the “epic” newness of the Red Room, I had a whiskey and coke, listened to a few songs, and ended up at back at the oh-so-familiar Gold Dust Meridian. And forgot to take a picture!
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NEW TODAY: Roller Skating | Street Walking (& CASA) | Cooking Thai(ish)
I’m in a rut. I’m not sure exactly what or how to change just yet, but I do know there’s a helluva lot of stuff I’ve never done. I’ve let myself get too comfortable, so I’m challenging myself to DO something new everyday. Most things will probably be small, maybe boring, maybe common place to everyone else, but hey, it’s new to me! Plus, I’m broke-ass. The *new* adventure of traveling the world will have to wait a few years. In the meantime, I’m collecting camera phone shots of every little thing for shits and giggles.
Here’s what started it:
Monday, 6/8/09
I was sitting in my orange chair Monday morning, staring off into space and wallowing in waaaaaay too much existential angst, when I realized I was actually staring at these roller skates, which have been sitting in their blue-and-white case since I bought them at a yard sale over a year ago. I haven’t once laced them up. And I thought, What the FUCK are you waiting for?? Stop waiting for just the right time, the right place, the right reason, the right preparation. Stop procrastinating living and just DO something already.
So I procrastinated all the to-do’s on my list instead and hit the streets. Damn, it’s not easy! Sidewalk cracks, sticks, rocks, freaking cars whizzing by… this is why they invented roller rinks. Plus the wheels on these vintage babies are rough, with sharp edges that are completely unforgiving. It felt like they might shatter to dust going over every bump. I ended up just circling around the parking lot by my apartment – not as fun as actually going somewhere, but it was super smooth. And jeeezus, I’m still sore! Yeah, I’m not in trithlete shape or anything, but it’s more like roller skating worked muscles that I don’t normally use, like my outer hips and thighs. I’ve got to get me some upgraded wheels and then I’ll be all about the 8-wheel workout.
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Tuesday, 6/9/09
I started training on Tuesday to become a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate), so that’s definitely my something new for the day. But I also had to take the bus out to NE 70th & Halsey (and will be making that lovely trip twice a week for the next month). And I missed the stop and went too far. And I was early. So I spent about 15 minutes walking down the street, trying my best not to look like a hooker. Yep, that was new to me, too!
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Wednesday, 6/10/09
I never, ever, ever cook. This was the first time I used the stove for something other than ramen and tea since I moved in a month and a half ago. When I make dinner, the fanciest it gets is eating baby carrots out of the bag and microwaving a turkey burger patty. All I really do is snack all day long. And eat out a lot. Preparing a meal – thinking ahead about what to make, following a recipe, spending more than five minutes in the kitchen - is completely foreign to me.
But I do love food. Good food. I’m even finally shedding the picky eater habits and falling for things I always said I hated. Case in point: Thai food. Especially anything with peanut sauce. I’m absolutely addicted. So I looked through the stack of recipes I’ve torn out of magazines with the idea that maybe one day I’ll actually turn into a cook, and look: I made my own! Yeah, I used a sauce mix, but damn if I didn’t time that rice perfectly, chop up the chicken, add broccoli to the recipe, and really, really love spending time in the kitchen. Might I possibly like cooking? I think so… I’ve just got to cut recipes in half or I’ll be buried in leftovers – or invite people over to share! Guests will be welcome as soon as I get a dining room table and don’t have to eat on my bed anymore. Studio living…
