The Fly Girlz are 12 year olds from Brooklyn. They've been on Morning Edition and were part of the Endangered Music Project.
After recovering from an evil flu virus (not swine), I am now enjoying the lovely Portland weather in the parks and at the coast with friends. I took a day trip to Cape Lookout and had ice cream at the Tillamook Factory. And of course I've been hanging out at Laurelhurst Park with some Cook's and OJ.
Cape Lookout, Oregon (photo stolen from internet.)
Mimosas in Laurelhurst 2008
After finishing my personal yoga challenge, my yoga studio put on an official one: 20 classes in the month of April. I finished the last class on April 30 in an 110 degree room with sweat and tears dripping down my face. For this amazing physical feat, I was the winner of a t-shirt and inner peace.
Garrett just returned from a trip to Birmingham. I will let him tell you about it and about his first day of Culinary School (which starts tomorrow)! I can't wait for the gourmet meals to start rolling in.
Teaching is going great. We recently had a May Faire, complete with a May pole, juggler, kid's band, balloon artist, face painting, and puppet show. It went swimmingly, and the everyone had a great time. We also had an art opening at New Seasons on Saturday. The kids were so excited to see their canvases on the wall with photos and bios. I am so thankful for my job and the wonderful people I work with. Now if I could just get the Alligator Song out of my head.
Speaking of music, I recently got to see some old friends and some great music at the Doug Fir. Check out their new albums, they are good.
It's been in the works for a little while, but I can now say that I have applied to, been accepted by, and will be attending the Oregon Culinary Institute. I figured that after graduating with a finance degree and trading stocks for almost the last 10 years, culinary school would be the next logical choice. It makes perfect sense doesn't it? I will be going for my culinary arts diploma starting June 9, and if all goes according to plan, will be completing the program in February of next year.
Since moving to Portland, I have become more interested in food and its creation and preparation. I've always been interested in eating it, except for the times I'm doing the Master Cleanse. Portland is a hotbed of culinary creation, and paired with its incredible wine, beer, and spirits industry, I cannot think of a better spot to learn than here. Although not entirely devoted to food, you can get a better feel for Portland's food culture in this recent New York Times article about the city.
Here's the part where I try to answer some of the questions that you might have:
No, I do not have to wear a chef's hat; a baseball hat will suffice
I have no idea how I'm going to do the master cleanse when I am required to eat food everyday
No, I do not watch cooking shows. I watch Anthony Bourdain on occasion, but that only half-counts because he's getting drunk most of the time
I do not have a desired specialty as of yet. That will come with time
Yes, I'm sure that I'll cut at least one finger off. Thankfully, they grow back, as I learned a few years ago.
No, I do not consider myself a good cook now. I have never made anything requiring more than 5 ingredients. That doesn't mean that I don't like to do it though. Graduation will occur in my mind when herbs and spices no longer scare me and I know what flambe means.
Everything Else
The new job is still going well. I'm still working on my dough tossing skills. Apparently Porlanders have never experienced a server from the south because all of the customers think that I'm the nicest person ever. My boss won't let me leave work without drinking a beer.
Helen completed her yoga challenge. I'll let her tell you about it.
The cats are still doing well. Thor's been taking advantage of the springtime sun and sunning himself by the window. I put on some Manu Chao for him to increase the tropical vibe. It's supposed to be in the upper 80's this weekend, so I might be joining him.
Have you ever said to yourself, "Self, with all of the movies that are out there, how am I supposed to watch them all?" Well, 2 blogs have been created to help you out by offering movie reviews. First, there's the amazing 2 Guys 1 Blog 0 Job that my friend John and I started a few months back. Then there's James' These Movies Are Making Me Thirsty. If you like 3rd grade writing and not-so-subtle insults aimed at me, then you might might find his effort funny in the way you find midgets wrestling to be funny.
I've been listening to these songs lately:
The Portland Trail Blazers lost in 6 games to the Houston Rockets in the 1st round of the NBA playoffs. I have not watched a game since. They did well this year and much better than anyone expected, so good job, guys. I've begun cheering for Chris "Birdman" Andersen now. He's such a tool that I can't help but love him. He'd lead the league in blocked shots if he started. He does one of two things after a good play: 1) flaps his arms like a bird or 2) runs his fingers through his hair. Fly, Birdman, fly.
Springtime is here, and as Helen and I approach our 1 year anniversary of being in Portland, I thought it would be nice to update everyone as to what I've been up to lately. All Helen does is teach pre-schoolers and do yoga these days. That makes me Mr. Excitement. Well, here goes:
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Man, this show makes my day. If you know my sense of humor, you can understand why I love this show. What's even more amazing is the story of how it came to be. You can check that out here. Rumor has it that the guys made the pilot for $85 and sent it in to FX. The channel liked the pilot so much that they picked up the show and ordered additional seasons. The fourth season has finished up and season 5 starts sometime later this year. You owe it to yourself to watch it. Here's a clip from the episode, "Sweet Dee Is Dating a Retarded Person" (you might need to sign up for a Hulu account to view this but it only takes a minute and lets you watch t.v. shows for free online)
Breaking Bad A show about a high school chemistry teacher dying of cancer who starts cooking and selling meth in order to leave his family enough money to survive without him. If that's not intriguing enough, it stars Brian Cranston, the dad from Malcolm in the Middle. The show is like Weeds, but without the rich-lady-is-too-lazy-to-get-a-job-and-doesn't-want-to-lose-her-cushy-standard-of-living feel to it.
The Portland Trail Blazers I'll admit, I was not a Blazers fan when I moved to Portland. I was barely even an NBA fan. However, as previous posts have explained, I have an affinity for Greg Oden and I wanted to support him. I have watched almost every game this year and went to some in person when I could. As the season went on I became more and more enamored with the team. When they lost, I would be genuinely upset. They've had a rough past 10 years or so, but this is a team you can cheer for and not feel bad. As fun as they were to love, the Jail Blazers are no more.
Well, the Blazers are back in the playoffs for the first time in 6 years. I went to Game 1 of their series against the Houston Rockets and saw them get destroyed. Game 2 was a great game that saw the Blazers come out on top. Games 3 and 4 are this weekend in Houston. If you should choose to watch any of the games, which I highly recommend, let me introduce you to some of my favorite Blazers.
I've already told you about Greg Oden. If you watch a game and look at his hair, it looks like he's been wearing a bike helmet his entire life because of the permanent lines that run along his head.
Rudy Fernandez is every girl in Portland's favorite player. He comes from Spain. He has machismo. He can dunk the ball and shoot 3 pointers incredibly well. While it has not been proven, I believe that he wears only a black Speedo and a gold chain while walking around town. His English is terrible, but the ladies don't seem to mind.
With nicknames like "The Vanilla Gorilla" and "Thrilla" how can you not like Joel Przybilla? Also, after getting fined by the NBA for his role in a skirmish, his grandmother wrote David Stern (the commisioner of the NBA) a letter telling him to repeal the fine.
His name is Travis Outlaw. He's the son of a sheriff. He's from Mississippi. He sounds just like Eddie Murphy. He never met a shot he didn't like. He'd shoot a faberge egg in the basket if he got a hold of one.
The Chicago Cubs With spring comes the beginning of baseball season. With baseball season comes the hope that the Cubs will make the playoffs and actually advance and play up to their talent level. I'm still sour about last year's playoff performance but I'm back again this year for more punishment.
A Job It took forever, but I've finally convinced someone to give me a job. I'll be working at a pizza pub that is getting ready to open up. Yeah, pizza, I've never done that before. I haven't officially started yet, but I'll let you know how it is when I have. I've got other plans in the works, but I'll tell more of them when they become more concrete.
The Beach The weather has warmed up nicely and we've had a handful of 75+ degree days here within the past few weeks. There's an island about 10 miles outside of town on the Columbia River that has beaches. I'm proud to report that my tan is already better here than it was in Birmingham. Maybe me and Rudy Fernandez can go together in matching Speedos.
Everything Else - The cats are doing well. Butters is still on his diet and is down to 17 lbs. now. His weight loss has slowed but his desire to annoy Colle, Vicious, and Thor has not. - If you're looking to increase your online novel reading, our friends Kevin and Carrie in Birmingham have started an online novel that they post in blog form. They release one chapter a week. It's call Some New Trend. Check it out. - Sorry for the lack of pictures of Portland and what we've been up to. My camera is broken and Helen's is on the out and out too. The cats' drawing skills have improved but are nowhere near publishable.
So, it's been awhile! We have all been doing fine. Everything is pretty 'routine' and 'normal.' That is, if you can call subjecting yourself to the body odor and flatulence of strangers in an 108 degree room 'normal.' That's right, I'm doing yoga. My goal is to attend classes for 14 consecutive days at Yoga Union Community Center in Southeast Portland. Some of the classes I've been taking are hot yoga, hot flow, vinyasa, core, and yin. I am really loving it and am already feeling stronger, more energetic, and less stressed. Even though sometimes it sounds a bit like this in class:
What else is going on? Garrett is currently in Santa Fe visiting Kurt and Trix-e for Trix-e's birthday. There are friends in town from Birmingham, and it feels strange to have such a large group of Alabamians wandering around the rainy city. Butters' weight loss plan seems to be working. He's lost 2 lbs. and is looking slimmer every day. We are so proud of him!
Butters' Current Weight: 17.4 lbs Goal Weight: 14 lbs.
I also took a sewing class and managed to complete it without injury to myself or others, which, in my estimation, is success! Here is my beloved pillowcase:
Also - Birmingham, get ready! I am coming your way at midnight on March 23. It will have been almost a year since I saw you last, and I have missed you. Anyone and everyone who wants to hang out is encouraged to call. My number has not changed.
Happy 2009! I apologize that this is my first post in almost 2 months. Here's what's been going on:
1) Helen and I left the snow in Portland on Christmas day to visit my parents in Santa Fe, NM. We ate and drank a ton, went blind doing a gazillion-piece jigsaw puzzle, watched college football, and went snowshoeing and snowboarding. I saw my first ever coyote and he appropriately took a crap in the middle of the road. I expected nothing less. We had a great time, as we always do.
2) We came back to Portland on New Year's Eve and since the beginning of 2009 I've been looking for a new job. I "retired" from the day trading business because the uncertainty of my earnings was getting to me. It's difficult to budget when you don't know how much money you'll make (or potentially lose) in a given month. My heart was no longer in it and I decided to move on. I figured that with Barack Obama becoming president on the 20th, I'd receive an envelope with a job in it no later than the 24th. No dice. I didn't vote, but if I did and had voted for him, I'd be pissed. I thought this guy was supposed to be a savior. I don't know about the rest of America, but I'm putting my full faith in Aaron Neville. Ye-hes-hes-hes-hes he-e-e-e-e ca-a-a-a-an! (Spoken like Mr. Neville himself)
3) I went to go see Stella perform at the Aladdin Theater on inauguration night. Stella is comedy group made up of Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain. I grew up watching them on The State on MTV. They've also been involved in the movies Wet Hot American Summer, The Ten, and The Baxter. Helen and I saw Michael Showalter over the summer when the Mission Theater showed Wet Hot American Summer and then had a Q & A with him afterwards. Funny, funny stuff.
4) Pub Trivia. What better place to showcase my knowledge of otherwise useless information. I wowed my team and the competition with my knowledge of Baywatch. Did you know that Elvis had a twin brother who died at birth? Neither did I until I went to trivia. Cru Jones and the Helltrack Racers will one day win the pot.
5) Because I have no regular job to go to I've started the Master Cleanse again. It's almost over. I didn't post my adventures with it this time. Let's just say that everything is flowing smoothly.
6) Anticipation for the new/remake of Friday the 13th. The Friday the 13th movie series holds a special place in my heart, as many of you know. I don't think the movies are screen gems by any means, but I do find them to be highly entertaining. I will one day write a thesis on how I believe that Jason Voorhees is an angel of God sent to kill promiscuous youth. If you've been to our place before, you know that I have an autographed picture of Jason proclaiming that "You're Next!" It hangs proudly next to my autographed picture of the Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase. I'm hoping that Michael Bay doesn't screw this up with too many explosions. I wouldn't put it past him to try and sneak in some Transformers.
In no particular order, here is what I really liked listening to in 2008!
1 Why? - Alopecia 2 Horse Feathers - House with No Home* 3 Spiritualized - Songs in A&E 4 Bound Stems - The Family Afloat 5 Magnetic Fields - Distortion 6 Marnie Stern - This is it and I am it.... (really long title) 7 No Age - Nouns 8 Damien Jurado - Caught in the Trees 9 Breeders - Mountain Battles 10 Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
And my favorite 2008 albums from bands in Portland, Oregon (my brand new hometown):
This is what I have been telling everyone ever since we moved here, and Portland has made me a liar. Usually people make the logical assumption that since Portland is on the 45th parallel north (which is the same as South Dakota, Minnesota, Maine, and the Canadian border) that it snows all the time and is bitterly cold in the winter. However, because it lies in the marine west coast climate region, it has mild winters and little snow. SO... after explaining this over and over, it goes and snows - for DAYS! So, here are some photos of our beautiful, white Portland.
Mimosas in Laurelhurst 2008
Other Lives
