Turkey Awards!

Today I realized what I forget to do on Thanksgiving...I forgot to be thankful. Although it's been a bit hard to remember lately, that makes a poor excuse. Because today, thinking about things, I realized I have a lot for which I am grateful. And this year it's mostly, though not exclusively, the people in my life whom I most appreciate. It may be cliched, it may be trite, but what the hell. I can't remember a time in my life when I owed more to the people closest to me. Please refer to the entry entitled "Yes." if the gooeyness overwhelms for a nice cold shower of a blog entry. This doesn't happen often, people, but I'm going to jump out on a limb here & try wearing my heart on my sleeve again. Don't worry. It will be relatively brief & relatively painless. Herewith, a small sampling of that for which I am thankful (with that most usual of caveats, in no particular order):

1. Jackie & Casey. Bless 'em. Nearly two whole months of awkward cohabitation & we still haven't come to blows. More than that, I still love them. And I think they still love me too...in spite of my bitchiness & compulsive dish washing. I hope they do, anyway. I just really appreciate their kindness & patience. You guys can live at my apartment for two months anytime. But I'll make you do the dishes.

2. My parents. They're wonderful people, & it's wonderful to have them so near. Besides, now they have no excuse whatsoever to not visit me.

3. Mandy. Whether you're cognizant of it or not, there was nobody I confided in more this past summer. Sure, I may have talked to a whole friggin' buttload of people. But I talked to you most of all. Even if all the talking was done through Google chat. Whatever. I really appreciated it. (& for the record, tonight it's Prague. How hard can it be to learn Czech? Or, um, Berlin is still close to the top. Love Parade sounds like a good place to be. Shit!)

4. Larry & MaryAnn. I thought losing them would be the inevitable corollary to a big sodding mess. I'm so happy it wasn't, because I really love them. They are fantastico!

5. Gabe & Cristine. For patiently being on the receiving end of florid details regarding the minutiae of my everyday existence since I got out here. Okay, it's more like that of my everyweekly experience. Still. It's been great. I love that y'all are only three hours away. Portland is still cooler than Seattle, though. Yeah, that's right, I said it. We dance. Next time you come down, we will get not-so-wet & be able to go to Hippo Hardware. It's a mile from my apartment, yo.

6. Gretchen & Anne, for providing shelter & support at crucial moments. Really don't know what I would've done without you, but it probably would have involved sleeping in whatever vehicle I had available at the time.

7. My job. Yeah, I know, I'm a corporate whore. I have a cubicle in an office in Kruse Woods Corporate Park. You know what though? It's gotten better. For what it is, I ain't complaining. I work with two smart people whom I respect. I have a lot of opportunity to get things accomplished. And it affords me the chance to live on the terms I want to. For that, I will endure the Morning Stretch. Plus I'm practically a computer whiz around there (truly frightening)!

8. My apartment!!! Oh it is going to be so fucking beautiful you will CRY, people. I am going to paint. I am going to make shelves (not complicated ones, so don't worry, I won't hurt myself). I am going to get furniture that I love. And fabulous cookware. I'll stop here.

And really, I'm thankful for 12 million more people & 12 million more things, so I apologize for that whom & which I've overlooked, but I'm full of beer & the bathroom calls ever more urgently. I find it wise to avoid soiling one's self whenever possible.

Oh, one last thing: "inbred" can be used as a noun. "Inbreeder" also is acceptable in the noun-ish way. "Inbreeds", however, is not. But I would like to thank the person who had homemade bumper stickers on their truck reading "Generation W" on the left side & "Bush Bashers R Inbreeds" on the right. Your clearly expressed sentiments provided me with more thirst for knowledge & more research opportunity than any of the countless occasions on which I've heard those who support Bush referred to as assholes, or evil, or stupid, or whatever. (Although it should be pretty obvious to anyone who knows me, I will point out here that I actually think fervent & blind supporters of either party qualify as inbreds.)

I Learned It By Watching You

Confession: I've been watching an obscene amount of television. It's pretty disgusting, but to be honest I don't have that many options right now. All my books are in storage. All my everything (except necessary clothing) is in storage. & has been, for the past month & a half. That will change in less than two weeks, & I will not have any television thank god BUT - here's what I've learned in the interim:

- "That 70s Show" is actually really funny.

- The HGTV & DIY channels are actually really informative for people like me who are not handy about the house, & they have inspired me to get creative with my own space, once I move in.

- I actually really like football. Though I will admit that I choose my teams based on the prettiness of their uniforms.

- I actually really watched the last few episodes of "Dancing with the Stars". And rooted for the football player. Not sure what I learned from this per se, except to be careful in the future of what I mock.

- Also, I had a completely unexpected connection with a television program aimed specifically at my demographic. The show is "Scrubs". I didn't like it at first, plus I was thrown off by seeing the second Becky from "Roseanne" & Dionne's boyfriend from Clueless in the same show. But honestly, it's grown on me. Good thing, 'cause it's on in syndication all the time & the friends with whom I'm staying like to watch it. Last night, the show's take on a classic anti-drug commercial made me laugh really, really hard. I'm pretty sure this isn't as funny if you didn't grow up in the 80s.

Yes.

It is a bit teched with melodrama, to be sure, but your humble narrator is suffering from insomnia & futile reminiscence tonight, which seems to have shifted from occasional occurrence to a most unwelcome trend; hence, she is disinclined to refrain from waxing poetic. Or, in this case, waxing not-so-poetic.

In any event, bring on 2007 already! Baby wants a new shirt.

Who Needs Television? The Revolution Will Be Smoked.

The Velveteria opened my eyes to so much more than just crying velvet Elvii.

What is "Hip"?

Last night I ventured into the bowels of the Doug Fir Lounge for more or less the first time ever. The reason? A (rather smashing) show by those keyboard-craz(ed)y Brit boys, Hot Chip. The Doug Fir is apparently brought to us by the folks responsible for my beloved, much-missed La Luna, the now-defunct all-ages club that was my high school haven. How can I forget the time when, at the age of 16, I had my very first sighting of a man in leather chaps, while rolling about on the floor drinking smuggled-in Long Island Iced Teas with my friend Misty? Quite a experience for an impressionable country girl.

Anyway, the Fir has a whole "Twin Peaks"-y/log cabin thing going on. Though, honestly, the walls downstairs look more like shaped baguettes in their final rise than logs. But, um, that's probably just me. The basic impression I've had is that the Fir is a cool-looking place with cool-looking people who are all looking at you to see if you're cool. Hipsters ahoy!

If there is one thing I am not, it is cool. And I exemplified that truth last night: I totally fell down the stairs walking back from the bathroom. I didn't even have the excuse of being drunk to camoflauge my utter un-coolness! Also, I grabbed some girl's hair in a desperate & futile attempt to defy the laws of gravity. Sooo not cool.

But by then, I was well on my way to unearthing an amazing discovery: the Portland variety of hipster is, by & large & unlike most other strains, not too cool for school. The door guys were super-friendly & nice. So were the bartenders. & yes, dear reader, even the audience members were afflicted with the same congeniality. With the possible, & quite understandable, exception of the girl whose hair I pulled. At the front of the stage, while waiting for HC to go on, I had pleasant, friendly conversations with all in my immediate vicinity. Additionally, although I've only been to two shows in Portland since I've been back, I've thus far found the audience enthusiasm very impressive. Imagine - you part with your hard-earned dollars to go out & see a show, & you're actually excited to be there. Instead of standing still with arms folded, you dance. If you don't dance, you at least nod your head & tap your feet. When a song is over, you applaud & holler as though it were the last song you'd ever hear. Judging from the reactions of the bands I've seen here, this is not a phenomenon they experience on the road with great frequency. At the Dresden Dolls, "fucking awesome" was the appellation bestowed. Last night, one of the opening bands said it had been their "favorite show ever".

This all kind of makes up for the rain. Methinks I have discovered the secret of survival in the land of sog.

Oh, & reason #1228 why I love it here: DJ Assault & the Egyptian Lover are doing a show at a club this Saturday! Side note: appropriately enough for a venue hosting the man behind "A Strange Place (The Alezby Inn)", the club also has queer girl nights called "Tart" & "Cupcake". I'm hoping to go & hook up with cute lesbian bakers. My apartment is so less than a mile away from the club. Also I'm hoping that cute lesbian bakers will be less likely to call me a creepy number of times & get mad at me when I don't want to talk about my feelings after spending a whole four hours together. I may be aiming too high there, but we'll see.

Reason #1229, you may or may not ask? The Slits are doing a free in-store performance at Jackpot Records next Tuesday before their full-on show at Dante's. So, if my temporarily flat-broke ass can't afford the real show, I can still see 'em.

Oh, & I didn't mention it before, because it seemed so obvious, but: Hot Chip were fucking awesome live. Go, run, go now & see them if they're playing anywhere near you. If they aren't, never fear: they divulged last night that they'll be touring the States again next year. & allegedly, they have a new album in the works, from which they played a couple tracks.

Why I *Heart* Target Like the Yuppie Scum I Am

They actually have a link for "Pink Kitchen". While I find the idea of an all-pink kitchen a bit questionable (I'm not that kind of girl), I love Love LOVE this food processor.

God bless KitchenAid & their little pink hearts.

I'm Starting to Wonder Why I Moved Back Here...

At least there's some variety...instead of "rain" every day, sometimes we get "showers" instead!

I'm pretty certain I'm experiencing some variant of Kubler-Ross' five stages of grief here. The first day of rain, I was actually pretty damn happy. Like the Morton Salt girl. By the third day, however, I was ANGRY. Wondering why the hell I moved back here. Eventually, I will reach acceptance. The first step - I left the umbrella in the car today. Only tourists & transplants bother with those things.

Galoshes are a new & exciting fashion option for me, however, & one I look forward to exploring.