Date night

So, as I mentioned last post I was getting ready to go on a date with a man that I met at the Restore. I forgot that you all might enjoy hearing about how it went. So here, a little but hopefully not too late, it is.

This was my first date ever with a stranger. Up until this point I have only ever gone out on dates with people that I have spent at least a few hours with in a group setting i.e. : a show, a friend dinner, a series of runs, or just regular friend hang out time. But, when I met this guy at the restore and gave him my number, I decided, in with the new and all that jazz.

We started off the evening by biking over to North West Portland for sunset to see these famous birds, the Vaux Swifts, all fly together in this crazy conglomerate to a chimney where they roost. Here's a post with a picture of what we watched.

After that we could have gone our separate ways but we decided to get some food. So, we went to a strange sushi bar where the sushi chefs make these little plates of sushi and put them on a conveyor belt for you to pick up if you want what's there. We tried a variety of things that I've never tried. Salmon eggs, sea weed sushi, spicy tuna rolls were all on that list of new things. It was a pretty fun and certainly novel experience.

After that we could have split up. We'd been out to see this amazing natural phenomena and we'd had dinner but then we went to get a drink from a bar. So, we bike back from the North West of Portland along the riverfront in the evening which could have been a date in and of itself it was so beautiful. We stopped at a bar that I pass all of the time on the way to the restore but that I'd never been to (in with the new eh?) and had a drink. He can only drink a glass of red wine because he has some liver problems but I did learn that he owns a distillery, makes whiskey, and makes specialty mead such as, fig mead and blackberry mead which is pretty awesome.

After this the night was no longer young but since I'd told him about the big persimmon trees, blackberries and roses that we have in our yard and about some of the stuff I've been doing in my room as little instillation pieces (some close ups shown below) I gave him a brief tour of my house. Then I kicked him out. It was pretty close to 1:30 in the morning at this point and I was so sleepy.

Tea bags stuck to this piece of wood I have leaning up against my wall

Close up of some tea bags.

Still, in the end, my date ended up being a seven and a half hour date. At least next time we hang out I won't be on a date with a stranger.

Things, Things, Things: We live in a material world

Well, since I've returned to Portland I've pretty much worn at least one thing a day that I brought back from the east coast. Here are a few of the treasures that I picked up back home

Earrings that I stole from Mom. They were broken so I replaced that top bit. That's why they're mismatched.

A blouse that I bought at Rumors, a Richmond Boutique.

Another pair of stolen earrings

A book that my friend made. It honestly didn't photograph very well but is awesome.

Tonight, I have a date with a boy that I met at the restore. Well, nothing is set in stone, but I think there will be a date tonight and I'm planning on rocking some of my east coast fashions.

Shout outs to Mom for hooking me up with all those sweet earrings, to Rumors for being such a positive and steady Richmond force over the past few years, to Terrance Edwards who designs sweet products which you can find at here, and to the Habitat for Humanity Restore for bringing people together.

East Coast Smeast Coast.

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

When I was packing up my green backpack and suitcase I realized that I owned a lot of green

In Delaware before we left for Virginia we tried to learn how to use the Camera's timer.

This was our best attempt.

A sink in my friends crazy old Richmond house

Another Bathroom's sink in the same house. A house full of crazy sinks

A flourless chocolate cake that my older sister made for my dad's birthday

Almond cheesecake covered in delicious fruit for the same birthday.

This is by no means all of the photos that I took but I thought I would give you a quick taste of how I spent some of my time while I was on the east coast. The report might be a little skewed towards sinks and cakes but I see nothing wrong with that.

IPad

Shows

This past week I've been making a distinct effort to stay busy- to get out at night and to really embrace the beautiful weather that we're having while we have it. It can be so easy to sit on your lazy butt all day after you get off work because, of course, sitting down can feel so good after 7 or 8 hours of standing. Here's what I've been up to most recently.

Friday: Went to see my friend Kristopher's band, Perfect Look, play for the first time. A small side note might be made that today my ears are still ringing from listening to the two bands that played before them. Earplugs are a definite must.

Saturday: Got out to see a band of fellows that I've had a serious of crushes or dates on called And, And, And. They played a good show but who really blew me away that evening was a band called Death Songs. A really serious name but a really impressive band.

Sunday I just went to see Patagonia Rising, a movie about damning these two rivers in Patagonia that Stephanie's friend had made. I crashed pretty early after that which was good since Monday turned out to be a really long day.

Then, yesterday, Monday, I went out to see Perfect look again and got to see this super fun Japanese band called M.O.T.O. and that was really rad.

Tonight, there may be dinner with friends and a cheap draft beer at $2 beer nights but no deafening shows for me. Tomorrow, I go out to see a band that I may have mentioned here before My Autumn's Done Come who have recently changed their name to just Autumn's Done Come. So, it's going to continue to be a happening week.

All day fun

All day bus pass inside the book I'm reading now

(a collection of short novels by John Steinbeck)

Today, I woke up late to see posted on the house's white board 3 all day bus passes. So, I decided to go on an adventure to St. John's a little town on the north side of Portland. Now, a few hours later and just a little bit car sick I am here to tell you about it.

Pizza

Old School place I had pizza at.

Little Bike carriage that I saw when I got off the bus

signs like these always make me miss people or places

Shout out Katelyn (whose birthday was yesterday)

On my own

All of the days of the past week have been spent with one homeless friend or another until tonight. Up until this point, I've been helping people move boxes and furniture, driving stuff to and from different storage spaces, and squirreling people's things away at my house. I've come home from work to a friend (and sometimes a dog) at my house, I go to bed and a friend is on my couch but suddenly things have changed

I'm all alone for the evening and I don't know what to do. I took a deep breath, I worked on my art project, I ate some homemade watermelon sorbet, I've watched the first two episodes of Mad Men and I am lonely. What do you do when all of the social interaction you've been having finds another place to stay?

I think that having my space back and getting to be calm is going to prove useful in keeping my sanity but I have fallen in love with the constant bustle of people, in my room, and generally in my space. I'm used to them needing my help and I don't know what to do now that no one needs me.

Oh, well, I'll go to bed, sleep well and wake up to a spacious room in the morning. It's not all bad.