back in portland again!

It's been a week now that we've been back in Portland and we're starting to get settled in. The move was stressful but went about as smoothly as we could have hoped.

We left San Francisco on Friday night around 8 pm after a harrowing day of packing and moving. Thankfully our friends Aaron and Jason were there to help us out. We would have been screwed without them. Here a picture of Aaron carrying some stuff to the truck:



Thanks Aaron and Jason! So after one last trip out to the beach where a got this picture we got on our way.



We drove until about 1230 when we finally decided to stop for the night in Redding, CA. The next morning we left at the crack of dawn and made it to Portland around 3pm. We got our keys and moved in pretty quickly with the help of some friends. Again where would we be without them - probably still moving. Thanks David, Andy, Travis and Jonathan. Seriously!

Here's the view from the rooftop deck of our building:



Although I'm really happy to be back, my head is still spinning from everything that's happened in the last couple of months. Just about 7 weeks ago Pete and I were looking at apartments in San Francisco as I was starting to feel that my position was more secure. In fact, we found a place that we really liked, but ended up not taking for a variety of reasons. Thankfully we didn't take it. The way it worked out we would have been moving into the new place right about the time I got laid off! Yikes - close call. That would have been terrible.

And now two months later I find myself looking out of my bedroom window at Mt. St. Helens on the horizon and marveling at how quickly things can change.

I'm pretty excited about things. I have been looking at going back to school for a while and unemployment and the move have brought that idea much closer to realization. I have already applied for Portland State University and will start taking classes in September for the fall term!

The other thing that I've been wanting to do for a long time is learning how to cook some authentic mexican food and make it vegetarian or vegan. Just today I made a pot of fresh pinto beans and some hand made corn tortillas. Pete and I had those for lunch with some veggie fajitas. Totally delicious!

We're having a get together next Friday and I'm planning on making a batch of tamales. I hope they turn out well!

Latah people.

the lady on the bike

so i've been thinking a lot lately about my life and career and everything. i've been calling it an early mid-life crisis because that's really how it feels (and it feels just as dramatic as it sounds). i feel really bad for all of my friends and family - having to hear me go on like a broken record about how miserable i am and how i 'really need a change' blah blah blah...

it's also cold, thankfully. i have been bummed because i am missing the portland storm (the coldest tems in at least 10 years!). everyone thinks i'm crazy, but i really really like the cold weather. and since i've been a kid i've really loved severe weather. not that i want anybody to be hurt or that i like to see stuff destroyed. i really just like seeing the power of nature.

anyhow, all of this is squashing my brain and for whatever reason - or for no reason at all - i was reminded of an incident in portland. i was riding in the back seat of pete's sister's car with pete. his sister and husband were in the front. we heading south on mlk blvd. in ne portland coming back from something... i think it was near the holidays because it was cool and overcast. we were going along having pleasant holiday related conversation and as we are nearing the more commercial lloyd center area there was a commotion in the right lane. we got over into the left lane and slowed with the trafic. as we approached the intersection of a small side street there was a crown gathered around someone lying in black leathers on the ground - her motercycle in the street on its side. so many thoughts went through my head at that point - mostly just taking note of stuff. she seemd to be in her mid 30's. white woman with short hair. looked to me like a dyke on a bike. one of the many happy portland queer ladies happily out for a weekend bike ride.

as i got a closer look i realized that the woman on the ground was in a physically impossible position. she was lying on her back - full face helmet still on her head - but one of her legs was curved around to the side. it sort of took a little while for the sight to really register with my brain, but a thought sort of crept up until it was the only thing i could hear screaming in my mind: "HER LEG IS CURVED! HER LEG IS CURVED!".

it was at that point also that i noticed the looks on the faces of the people gathered around her. i've seen many accident scenes in my life and there's always a ton of excitement and adrenaline with about 12 people on the phone with 911 and people screaming and freaking out. this was different. everyone was kneeling down over the woman on the ground. nobody was moving. they were just looking down at her like they were waiting for something. they looked sad and worried. i lost sight of them as we pulled away - cheerful conversation continuing. i don't think anyone else in the car saw what i saw.

and just like that it was over. the whole thing probably lasted only a few seconds, but that short experience has had a lasting impression on me. i can't really say what that impression is but it is there.

i don't know why i thought about that today.