adieu

today was my last day in portland. *sigh* my summer hiatus has been all too short. i had a great time at my jobs and hanging out with great people. there are so many things i will miss about this town. awesome public transportation. a coffee place on every block. finding cheap and free stuff everywhere. people who take time for other people. i could go on for awhile, but i won't. i'm so glad i took the chance and moved here, and i will miss portland dearly.

O' Canada

This is my first time visiting our great neighbors to the north. It is surreal, to say the least. I feel like I'm in this weird twilight zone hybrid of the States and England. Its not really anything like what I expected. But then again, I didn't really expect much. What, did I think they would all look like hockey players and wear weird hats and say 'eh' all the time? Lets just say I'm enjoying my time so far with the Canadians.

shows

i generally don't like going to shows anymore - too many people. but tonight was definitely worth fighting the throngs of drunk people. pedro the lion and death cab for cutie for five bucks. and i couldn't even complain about the sound sucking. it was awesome.

good times

alissa and i just got home from matt's birthday party. its so much fun to hang out with cool people. good food, good beer, good conversation, and bottle rockets. it was a good day.

hipster

i just got a haircut from a friend, and now i look super-cute. i couldn't go back to riverside with the same haircut i had when i left, now could i? so now i look like i've been a portland hipster for the summer. or have i?

refreshing

i'm sitting in my living room and its about 95 degrees in here. i felt like having a beer, so i'm sipping on my suds and thinking - whoever said that a cold beer is refreshing must have been a raging alcoholic. if anything, i feel more hot and parched than when i started. i'm tired.

graduate school

i'm finally getting serious about going to graduate school for an MFA. i've spent a lot of time in the past week researching programs and requesting information. my eyes and fingers are tired from spending too much time on the internet. this is a lot of work.

orphan

alissa and i went to the beach near astoria today, and boy was it windy. we were walking near the water at fort stevens state beach and saw this baby bird in the water all by itself and squawking its little head off. it turns out that its a type of bird whose parental style and migration habits make for a high death rate. we did see a lot of dead birds on the beach. so we took it to an area of the beach where the weather wasn't as severe and put it back out in the water. i would love to think that he's doing ok, but unfortunately i know the odds. sometimes nature sucks.

logic

went to craft night at nocturnal last night and sat at a table next to these guys who were downing a pitcher of beer and playing mastermind. it was both sad and amusing to listen to them talk out their train of logic, since it was obviously slowed down quite a bit. but we went home early because alissa and i both felt like crap. all good things must come to an end.

mrs. degree

what is it with girls at christian schools feeling like they're an old spinster if they aren't married by the time they're 22? its like the entire point of life is to be married and produce babies. i want to shake them and ask them if they think they have any value. and the answer is - 'yes, to be a mommie'. aaahhhhh!!!! nooooooo!!!!!!

homesick

i've been living in portland for six weeks now, and i realized today just how homesick i am. i didn't think it would be very bad, but i want to see my friends and family. a lot. i know that three more weeks isn't a long time, but it feels like an eternity.