Sunday, August 26, 2007

Apocalypse Now

THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END!

I have joined Netflix. Moreover, I think I might ask it to be my boyfriend. For a mere $17 per month, I can have as many movies as I want, with up to 3 out at once. As soon as I send one back, they automatically send me the next one on my list. Is this the greatest thing ever, or have I been brainwashed by an evil corporation? But guys, they have everything. I'm even able to save movies that aren't out on dvd yet, and they'll send them to me as soon as they are. And the movie recommendation engine is so accurate that it's creeping me out. I feel really guilty, but I think I might be in love.

Okay, but before you drag me to the lynching tree, I also want to let everyone know that I've already bought a block of movies at my local video store (Video Verite, which is wonderful), and I plan to rent there often. They've got a great selection and very fair prices, though it's weird to be on the other side of the counter. I also have a hard time finding movies, because I'm so used to the classification system at Rentertainment, and, of course, none of their movies are only $1... no 3 for $6, no daily specials, and no 100 for $100 (which, unfortunately, makes renting a tv show disc-by-disc prohibitively expensive). They also don't have everything I want, though it's probably unfair to expect that. So, I'm sort of supplementing the movies I get from Video Verite with my Netflix queue; hopefully it'll keep me happy and buried in movies. I guess I've been spoiled by Rentertainment! I miss Kells, the Uribes, and that guy who used to talk about Michael Haneke with me.

I'm having a good time, but I'm also pretty lonely and homesick. I miss my boring life in my old one-horse town! The coffee here sure is good, though.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Home

I have an address! Send presents to:

3511 N. Michigan Ave.
Portland, OR
97227

Monday, August 20, 2007

Silent "S"

Oregon, please learn how to pronounce "Illinois."

Also on wishlist:
1) job
2) apartment
3) friends

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Old Growth


It's my birthday! Ahhhhhh! (26!)


Here's where I am right now:



I'm in Redwood National Park, right at the top of northern California. You may also know it as the Ewok Village from "Return of the Jedi" (really!) I also can't stop humming the theme from "Jurassic Park."


These trees are 1500 years old. That blue in the distance? The freakin' Pacific.


We're 300 feet tall! Yaaaay!



For scale: that stump is 10 feet tall. My head hits at the very bottom of the ferns.





Ben inside a giant burned-out redwood






I wish I had a better picture of this... these are giant, cloud-covered bluffs. Those tiny things at the bottom are fairly large tents. This is where we cooked and ate dinner a few night ago... it's spectacular.

Oh yeah, and...


... this is where I was a few days ago: the Sonoma Valley. Wine country! We spent a day going from winery to winery, doing tastings and nibbling on cheese. We camped out that night in the hilly country around Sonoma lake. I thought I knew what stars looked like, but when it got dark, I realized I was wrong; people, I saw the Milky Way! It was just right there, for anyone to see! I'm sorry, but I don't think Illinois stars will ever cut it again. As if it couldn't get any more ridiculous, there was also a meteor shower that night. I don't even know what to say, it was one of those things I'll probably be muttering about when I'm old.



To reiterate:

THIS IS WHERE I AM. Right now. This is just across the street. But, but, but... oh, if only I could teleport back to Urbana, just for a day! Just for an hour at Murphy's! I'm missing everyone so much right now... not even the Pacific makes up for it.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

California <3

California.

On Thursday I had my 20 hour train voyage (we were delayed for 2 hours). It was excellent, actually... I was mad when I had to get off the train. I had my own tiny room, so I just read and looked out the window and listened to music, and nobody bothered me. The scenery was beyond insane (the most spectacular waterfalls I've ever seen, rain forests, cliffs, mountain vistas, tunnels through mountains) and I had some really good "what does it all mean?" moments. These moments were encouraged by the aforementioned 4 giant beers that I had in my carry-on bag, which go very well with tear-inducing scenery.

Here's my "cabin." Hal-9000 included in each private room!

Sleeping on a train is nearly impossible... it's like being strapped to a missile, actually. Instead, I started taking self-portraits:

This is a photo of me on the retractable top bunk of my cabin. Seconds later, I tried to take a photo while hanging upside down, with nearly fatal results. An attempted photo while standing on my head had similarly tragic results.

Ben's friend Mike lives in Oakland, so we've been staying there since Thursday and visiting the city during the day. San Francisco is basically another planet. Here's a tiki bar that we went to one night in Oakland. It had a gyrating hula girl statue and a giant volcano that spewed dry ice:

Here's Robert Hass's office door in Berkeley. Yeah, I actually took a photo of this. Robert Hass, please never google yourself and find this page.

Last night we ate at this French restaurant named Gregoire... it's mainly a take-out place, but there are a few tables. I loved it because it's lovely, fancy French food, served by... well, just a couple of dudes. We ate in paper take-away boxes with plastic silverware out on the sidewalk. We brought this Sicilian wine that Lucio had given us when he visited, and it was outstanding:



Last but not least, this is dedicated to every Rentertainment employee. It's Gaylord's! Bluuuuuuughhhhhhhhhhh.

I'm off to camp in wine country!

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

I'm le tired. Today I decided I wanted to go to OMSI to see BodyWorlds, because everyone who's ever gone to see it before has said it was incredible. No joke, this is pretty much the greatest thing I've ever seen, and I'm pretty sure that every other person at the exhibit was thinking the same thing. Basically, this guy developed a new way of preserving bodies (they take out all the fluids and replace them with some sort of plastic), and you get to see every part of the body, up close, and learn how it works and interacts with other parts around it. It was so interesting! Have you ever seen your spleen before? Or an entire nervous system, or all of the arteries in your foot? I kind of think that everybody should be forced to see this, because then no one would ever do anything to harm their bodies again (especially after seeing a real full-body cross-section of a man who died of obesity-related complications). It was a pretty far walk from my hostel, so the entire way back, I just kept thinking about what leg muscles look like and picturing a knee joint extending over and over again... oh my god, I'm made of meat and bones!

I'd been walking around for about 6 hours, so after BodyWorlds I needed to sit down. I found a theater that was showing "Broken English," then bought a bratwurst from a German food stand and smuggled it inside. What is up with these theaters, and why are they so great? This one was a place called "The Living Room," which had a full-service lounge attached to it. You could order wine or little nibbles from the lounge, and they'd bring it into the theater for you. All the seats in the theater were basically little mini-recliners. Also, the movie was only $4.50. I'm in heaven!!!!

Afterwards, I went walking again, trying to find this stationary store where Al Gore apparently goes to get personalized stationary. I love Al Gore, and I love stationary, but mainly I just love spending money on stupid things when I have no job. (Un)fortunately, I never found it, but I did come across a Whole Foods store, my first ever! I know that everyone else on earth has already been there zillions of times, so pardon my naive enthusiasm when I ask, "Have you seen the produce section in this place?!?" No wilted strawberries in these aisles, no my brother! Ahahaha!! I ended up buying a few things for my train journey tomorrow, just in case the food is inedible. By "a few things" I mainly just mean 4 giant beers.

I walked around for 8 hours today, so I'm ready for 18 hours of sitting tomorrow. See you in California!
LOLLERZ of the day:

(written on the paper wrapper of a croissant from Starbucks)
"Flavors my senses. Sweetens my disposition. Stirs my imagination. Nourishes my dreams..."

Who knew that one croissant was capable of so much!??!? It was pretty good, though.

Tomorrow I'm leaving on the train for old Californiee -- a 17 h 45 m journey (best case scenario, since this train apparently is legendary for having delays of up to 9 hours). I sprung for a sleeper car, because the thought of being trapped next to a talker or an infant for 18 hours made me break out in a cold sweat. I'm really excited... my own tiny room! I think meals are also included, though the sandwich I ate on the train back from Seattle was really, definitely, absolutely the worst thing I've ever eaten, so this isn't really a great bonus. I think I'm really just going to California so I have an excuse to read for 18 straight hours.

Man, Urbana, it appears you have a heat index of 104 right now. It's 67 here. Maybe I don't miss you as much as I thought I did!

Monday, August 06, 2007

What's (been) Happening

I'm having such a nice day.

This morning I set off from Seattle at about 5:30 in order to take my bus down to the Amtrak station, then caught the train at 7:30. The trains had been out of service all weekend because of some hairline fractures in the cars, but apparently they salvaged some old cars from the Amtrak junkyard (note: this is not a joke) and put them back on the line for Monday's route. It wasn't as bad as it sounds, though the bathrooms were all mostly out of service and there was a slight air conditioning problem. All in all, though... nice; the train wasn't sold out, so I was able to sit by myself, I had a lovely view of Puget Sound, and I finished "A Handmaid's Tale."

I got in at about 12:00, walked a grueling mile back to the hostel (I NEED TO PACK LESS), then poked around until 2:00 while my room was being prepared. I walked down to Powell's and bought a few more books, since I am always unsatisfied with the 5 or 6 that I'm already carrying around. Bought a new hoodie at American Apparel because I was chilly. While I was walking around, Paul (new roommate) called, and we ended up meeting for dinner. He is fantastic! We got along fabulously and had such a fun time together; I'm so excited to be living with him, because he seems like he'll turn into a good friend. I made a friend! Hey Portland, I have a friend! On the way back, I talked to Anna on the phone... only a month until she gets here! Then I'll have TWO friends!

After Paul left, I walked around downtown for awhile, then headed back to my hostel. On the walk home, I passed by a theater called "Mission Theater" that was getting ready to show "Waitress," so I went inside because I didn't really have anything else to do. This turned out to be a fine choice, because it was also a bar. I have long heard the legends of these mythical theaters that also serve beer, but I've never had the good fortune to patronize one until tonight... could this be my new passion? Anyway, "Waitress" was cute (though I felt so sad at times because of Adrienne Shelley's terrible death) and I felt very contented sitting there by myself, enjoying a fine amber ale. After it ended, I strolled aimlessly about the neighborhood, feeing very happy in my new city. I think my life will be nice here. This is the first time I've ever been alone in a city (or really anywhere, except Urbana) but I'm feeling at home.

I'm sitting in the hostel now. I ended up having to stay in the co-ed dorm, and when I returned from my evening jaunt (~9:30) I found a 40-ish man already in bed, snoring. Geoff, was that you? Are you playing a trick on me? Want to go to Murphy's tomorrow?

It occurs to me that I never updated about Seattle! I don't want to be unkind, but Portland kicks Seattle's ass! The entire time I was there, I was filled with the beginnings of civic pride. I really have no business making sweeping generalizations about either city, but I just felt like Portland's character far outweighed Seattle's, which was a bit yuppie for my taste. That said, I had a hilarious time there. In case you were thinking about visiting Kenzie sometime: DO IT. World's best hostess!!!!!! 4 Day Trip summary:

Small mishap with bus system. Science-Fiction Museum, Pacific Science Center (highlight: watching two IMAX movies in a row), monorail, Skee-Ball at a small city fair, Washington's version of Murphy's. Ate at Red Hook Brewery and took tour where we were given unbelievable amounts of free beer. The tour guide tried to become Kenzie's boyfriend. Went to wine tasting at winery across the street. Went to see "Sunshine," which was disappointing. Saw "The Number 23," which was terrible. Went to the farmer's market, bought giant bags of fresh seafood and vegetables. Cooked feast. Ate best cake of all time, made with Bailey's. Copious amounts of gossiping, probably about you.

Photos!

I've chosen to post the best photo first. Yes, this is a self portrait of me at the Science Fiction Museum, in front of the model used in Deep Space Nine. Keep in mind that I'd been standing in the rain for roughly 2 hours prior to this, though that probably still doesn't account for the expression on my face. Seconds later, I was chided by a security guard for taking photos inside the museum. What the hell is the purpose of a place like this if you can't take pictures? As a result, there's no photos of me in front of an authentic Borg costume, which I'm angry about.
Fortunately, I was also able to take a photo of this: the Holy Grail from Indiana Jones! Wait, this is what all that drama was for? It sort of looks like the gold is sponge painted on. Oh my god, it is!

This is my spycam photo of the Blue Angels, who were doing a show in town that weekend. Obviously, I should be a photographer.


What's going on here? This photo isn't even that bad. This is us at the Columbia winery.

I told you Kenzie was a good host. What are you still doing in Illinois? Get out here, come on!

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Civilization

Camping is over!! I took a shower!!

I feel sort of bad for Ben, because camping with me must have been the most annoying experience of his life. It's really not that I even hate camping; I don't mind sleeping in the tent, I don't mind bathing in the river, I don't mind eating camp food, and I actually really love hiking. Some spiders got on me, and I only screamed once. Unfortunately, I forgot all about the good experiences every night when it got dark. You might not have realized this, but: a) I'm really, truly afraid of the dark, and b) it gets insanely dark in the Oregon woods. Needless to say, I became annoying after sunset every evening, and began going to sleep at sundown just so I wouldn't have to huddle around the fire in paranoia.** Because, of course, you never know when the rocks might rise up and stone you to death in the night. Also, serial killers are actually shape-shifters who take the form of old stumps every night. No matter how many times you shine your flashlight on them, they will remain in stump form, but don't be fooled -- they're coming to get you.

But anyway, I'm in Seattle now, safe and sound. I arrived this evening, and Kenzie picked me up, took me to dinner, and showed me around the Microsoft complex (which is pretty much a small city). The train ride up was pretty uneventful, and the scenery was nice. The woman sitting next to me spent pretty much the entirety of the 3 hour ride applying make-up, and even managed to somehow paint her nails. I was somewhat curious about why she was doing this, but she was obviously a big talker and I wasn't about to start any sort of conversation with her (I know this because she managed to tell me that she had rheumatoid arthritis even though I had headphones on). Luckily, the woman across from us asked her some sort of question, so I got to passively eavesdrop on them while pretending to listen to music; it turns out that she was meeting one of her ex-boyfriends from 30 years ago. They dated when she was 20 (she's 50 now), and hadn't seen each other since, but she had a dream about him last month so she looked him up and he invited her for a visit. Odd!

**re: the fire... the only joy of having night fall, of course, was the treat of getting to sit around a nice fire. Unfortunately, one night a rock in the center of the fire got too hot and exploded, sending flaming wood and hot embers everywhere. I am now almost as afraid of campfires as I am of the dark.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

True Colors

I just spent kind of a long time looking for a Portland-based Star Trek club. I know it's a lot harder to be the least cool person in a city of 500,000 than in a town of 30,000, but I'm trying my best.

Ok, but seriously: did you know that Robert Picardo (the doctor from Voyager) also played the gym teacher in "The Wonder Years"? Hahahahahaha:

He was also the voice of the Johnnycab in "Total Recall". Robert Picardo is surely the finest actor of his generation!

I'm sure you're all comforted by the fact that I'm basically still living the same exact life, even halfway across the country. I'm definitely getting to know my new city by sitting inside cafes and using Google Image.