We've been asked this question in almost every conversation we've had, it seems. I ran across this video in the Portland Mercury, done recently by MTV. (Who knew they were producing anything besides reality TV shows, right?) Anyway, I agree with what the bands they interviewed had to say and feel like it sums up alot of the reasons why we're here.
This weekend, most of the smaller bands featured in this video are playing at PDX Pop Now! - a FREE, all ages, local band-only music festival. How cool is that?
So, pack the electric guitar and four cats into your Subaru Outback and find out for yourself. Or you can just get the PDX Pop Now Compilation CD, hole up in your basement, and pretend. (I should work for the Board of Tourism, seriously.)
...until John Yam and Cary Norton arrive in Portland, Oregon.
We are so excited. Look out cougars, casinos, and Union Jack's. The next few days will include a cat hair cleanup effort the likes of which Thor, Colle, Vicious, and Butters have never seen. (Cary has cat allergies.) We're hoping Cary's trip to Casa de los Gatos will not kill him but make him stronger.
One of the highlights of the past two weeks was a Saturday spent at the Clackamas River with our friends/neighbors, Joe and Keiko. We fished for trout in a "You catch, we clean" pond. Keiko caught the first fish, Joe was impressed with my worm-baiting skills, and Garrett caught the biggest fish of the day.
After fishing, we went to McIver State Park and cooked our fishies, waded around in the river, and hiked a little bit. What a great day!
We've also been to the International Beer Festival in the Pearl District, had some good pizza at Apizza Scholls, found a great sushi restaurant called Yoko's, and explored some new neighborhoods.
I've been spending lots of time in Laurelhurst Park, enjoying the breezy 80 degree weather and thinking about all you suckers roasting in Birmingham!
In other news, Thor has made a full recovery from the Baghead incident. Good thing, cuz those diapers were getting expensive. Also, there's a shocking development in the Battle for Alpha Cat. Out of nowhere, Vicious enters the picture, popping Butters a good one. Butters gets points deducted for his bloody nose; Vicious makes her Alpha Cat debut. Butters: 10 Colle: 35 Vicious: 10
So, I decided to conduct an experiment a few minutes ago. Given Thor's erratic behavior yesterday, I felt the need to know if he was having a bad urinary day or if he's really afraid of Baghead. I proceeded to place a paper sack over my head and make noises similar to those that I made yesterday. Well, I can now say with 100% certainty that Thor is pee-in-his-pants afraid of Baghead. His stream was even worse today than it was yesterday. He managed to get in on the rug, TV, entertainment stand, window sill, and window shade. I don't know how he managed to get pee everywhere. It's similar to discovering hairs in impossible to reach areas of your shower but worse. Thor is now holed up inside of the box spring in the spare bedroom. God knows when he'll come out. Lesson learned.
Amazingly, I was able to capture a picture of Thor moments ago. I have no idea where he got the "THOR: Big Baby" t-shirt or the diapers, but as you can see, he already stained them. Tsk tsk.
Well, I know you were all worried about me. You can relax now because I GOT A JOB! That's right, I will begin teaching at a preschool/kindergarten that can best be described as "hippie." You guys know that's the way I like things. Some of what I'll be doing with the kids: gardening, baking, singing, talking about 'Mother Earth,' cleaning up 'accidents,' talking about 'respecting each other and ourselves,' feeding them organic vegetarian meals, doing art projects revolving around nature, etc. (you get the idea.) Anyway, all of this sounds like heaven to me (except the cleaning up accidents part) and I am very excited. The people I'll be working for are really cool, and the preschool is in two old houses within walking distance of our place. Yay! OK, enough shop talk.
Portland is cooling off, so we've been outside enjoying it. We took a picnic to Mt. Tabor to watch the fireworks on the 4th. We went to the Farmer's Market with our lovely neighbors. G. got some big slimy oysters, so he and our neighbor shucked them, ewww. We ate a bunch of food and gazed upon the beauty that is Thor's manhood and had a great time.
Yesterday, G. and I went to see the movie "Baghead." It is made by the people who did "The Puffy Chair," (which I hated) and has the girl from "Hannah Takes the Stairs," which I saw at the Sidewalk Film Festival with Leah last year (and liked).
When we got home from the movie, Garrett snuck up behind me with a bag on his head. I wasn't really phased, so he started walking towards the cats making noises. They all went running, and Thor got so scared that he began peeing and running at the same time. There was a trail of pee from the bathroom all the way under the bed.
So, that's pretty much the most exciting thing happening here at the Oregon Tail. What are you guys up to?
Upcoming events:
Valient Thorr at the Hawthorne on Friday!
2008 US Open Footbag Championship (Footbag = Hackeysack)
Sand in the City (They fill Pioneer Square with tons of sand. There's a sand sculpting contest.)
*There is an internal dispute over the current leader of alpha cat. A suitable resolution involving some type of contest between the two competitors will be devised and reported upon. Until then, Thor unanimously takes the title of "biggest puss."
MTV
