Happiness is a One Armed Dinosaur

Happiness is a One Armed Dinosaur
Happiness is a One Armed Dinosaur

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Life inside the Matrix

Oh, this day is a beast.



My eyes are starting to feel like the bar-code scanning machine at the grocery store and the library. And I just scratched a bite on my leg to the point of drawing blood. And I still have 1 hour and 20 minutes left of work.

Things that I am looking forward to because in spite of This Day life in general is pretty great:

1. Tonight I am going to Robocop at Central Cinema! How I have never seen Robocop in it's entirety is absurd. Patrick says it is one of the saddest movies he has ever seen. I am looking forward to drinking beer and having a good cry. However, as far as robot movies go, nothing can be as much of a tearjerker as:


2. At long last I have replaced my broken and outdated (prescription wise---NOT fashion wise) eyeglasses! Because my lens strength is attempting to correct practical blindness, the glasses won't be ready until next week or so. Nonetheless, it is one more thing to mark of my imaginary to-do list.

3. I have several "projects" in mind that I will be undertaking within the next week. Said projects are of a top-secret nature and will be revealed upon completion and receipt by affected parties. (I a) watch too many Bond movies and b) work in a lawyer's office).

4. My bed has clean sheets!

5. I have updated my blog TWO DAYS IN A ROW!!!!


Monday, March 28, 2011

PDX-cellent Anniversary!

Seeing as how mid-March is rapidly becoming late March, I have decided to update the ol' blog. Who knew it would be so difficult to write everyday? Oh, wait, Nano!

Patrick and I recently celebrated our 4 year anniversary. Shock and awe! We decided to take the train to Portland and spend money on food and booze and arcade games in celebration. It was time and money well spent. I could've used about 2 extra days and maybe one more dip in the hot tub, but overall the trip was great fun!

This was our train riding kit, or Trainkit:


It had everything we could possibly need for a 3.5 hour journey after a full day of work. Yes, that is 7 hour energy as opposed to the weaker, 5 hour stuff. Originally the mustard was for the pretzels, but it soon became apparent that not only do Patrick and I share a deep and meaningful love for one another, we also share a deep and meaningful love of condiments and eating them directly out of the package. And the orange is for health reasons, obviously.

Our first stop post train station was Plan B. 

John @ Plan B - Photo by Kyle Ritter

I don't know John, or Kyle, but I found this photo online and it pretty much sums up the bar. Joyce's boyfriend's band played and it was stellar! I even got to record the show because Joyce forgot her ID and couldn't get into the bar. SO SAD, but she made it back in time for the last song and that's great news! 

Joyce and I played a couple of intense games of Jenga, Patrick played pool and we finished off the evening with 2 giant pizzas from Sizzle Pie. I didn't get a picture of the pizzas because they disappeared RIGHT BEFORE OUR EYES! 

The rest of the weekend was a blur of good food, GREAT friends and some pretty spectacular thrift store finds!


Our next Portland Adventure will hopefully be for Memorial Day weekend. I did not spend ANY time at the food carts, which I happen to love more than anything---sorry, Patrick. There are also several bakeries that need my support. And, of course, the hot tub. I LOVE YOU PORTLAND! (And Jeremy and Joyce!)







Thursday, March 10, 2011

When did mid-March happen?

I'm doing a stand-up job blogging! Just kidding. I actually forgot that I had a blog until I got an e-mail from the public library telling me that all those young adult books I checked out weeks ago are due. Oops! I read them though, and that is a success story.

My wonderful and amazing mother came to visit last week! She stayed for 3 nights and it was jam packed. We went to the a drag show, down to the market, and drank Bloody Mary's and beer! Truth be told, my favorite part of the visit was Winston.


He is Jack's new dog. Jack is super lucky. Winston loves beer and sleeping; he hates garbage trucks, but is fond of sea gulls. It is like we are destined to be best friends forever. 

Can we talk for a minute about how much I love The Moonlight Cafe? SO much. Now, can we talk about how much I dislike Kai's in the U-District? When given the choice I will always choose a dive bar over some place trendy and/or hip. I am that person. Kai's seemed like the perfect place to quench my Bloody Mary thirst and that is how my mom, myself and 6 others ended up there last Friday morning. It was sunny outside, but inside it was dark and quiet. The walls were deep red and the patrons consisted of a couple on their way out and a middle-aged man eating french fries at the bar. So far, so good.

The bar tender was older, maybe 45-50, and he came out and helped us push together some tables. And that was the extent of his kindness. It would be an understatement to say that he was abhorred when all we wanted were drinks. Kai's was rumored to have phenomenal Bloody Mary's, so I eagerly anticipated the arrival of my drink. Now, it was not a bad drink, but it was lacking in the garnish department---which is my favorite part, and there was no straw. I don't know if that's just "Ellen being crazy" or if straws in drinks are something that is okay to expect, but it was sort of difficult to drink out of the glass with a 1/2 inch of salt creeping into my nostrils. Out of sheer guilt, my mom and I ordered fries. They were garlic shoestring fries and  pretty standard. Delicious. Mmmm.....garlic. The reason I will never go back (which is probably untrue, but I definitely won't seek out this destination for future U-District outings) is because of the mean old man bartender. Those damn drinks cost just as much as the food on the menu. He was glare-y and disapproving and made me feel like I was paying with Monopoly money. (Okay, that my mom was paying with Monopoly money, but still.)

In a mere 75 minutes I will be rendezvousing at the library to pick up my fake beard/mustache combo for the Purim party at my house tomorrow. I will be dressing as Haman and eating delicious hamentaschen and drinking wine. Pictures to follow.  

I leave you with this: