I've been getting over a cold I picked up on the airplane on the way back from NYC, so I decided to take it easy Friday night. A few beers and only a few cigarettes. I was in bed earlier than I've gone to bed on a Friday in a long time.
Saturday consisted of cleaning and organizing. After Ally was off of work, I took the train to her work and met her there. We headed to Optic Nerve so that I could put a down payment on my next tattoo. I came up with an idea a while ago (viking ship), and I had found an artist I really liked (Tim Jordan). While there I paid for Ally to get her nose pierced. She'd been mentioning wanting it done for a long time, so I figured it was as good of a time as any. After we left there, we went to Tube for happy hour and to say hi to Clarissa who had just returned from NYC the day before. We went home after a few beers and stayed in for the rest of the night.
Sunday morning I got up with Ally and took her to work. On the way home I stopped at Trader Joe's and picked up some groceries. I went home and made myself breakfast. At some point while making breakfast, my back started hurting really badly. Like a pinched nerve or something. It pretty much ruined the rest of my day. I sat on the couch most of the rest of the day since that hurt just a little less than moving around. I did make myself go to the grocery store to get the things I didn't get at Trader Joe's and I drove to Ally's work to pick her up, but that is about the extent of my day. When I tried to go to bed, my back hurt no matter how I laid down. I had to use a heating pad in order to even bear the pain enough to fall asleep.
My back still hurts a bit today, but not as bad. I wish I knew what caused the pain so that I can avoid it in the future.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
it's a hell of a town
Our trip to New York was a lot of fun.
Looking back on it now, it's hard to remember all of the details. I'm sure I'm going to leave out a bunch of important facts. I'll tell you what comes to mind now as I type, and let the pictures embellish the story. There are a lot of pictures, so you'll have to check out the picasa page (click here) to see all of the pics, good and bad. Ally is also working on a blog of her own so that you can get her side of the story too.
Day 1:
Our red-eye flight made us zombies as we arrived at JFK around 8:30 in the morning. We found our way to the subway and tried to stay awake on the ride in to the city. We finally arrived at our friend Camille and her boyfriend Kendall's place in Nolita (North of Little Italy). Ally and I took a nap, from which I awoke first and took a short walk around the neighborhood in search of coffee. After I returned to the apartment, Ally woke up, and Camille returned we all headed out to McSorely's where we enjoyed the beer, the history, the 150+ years of beer soaked wood and dust on the chandeliers. After that, we had an amazing pizza and headed to a few bars. Eventually Ryan Liebe and Camille's boyfriend Kendall met up with us. After beer and skeeball, we called it an early night (sort of), but not until after we picked up some Pommes Frites and devoured them as if they were our last meal.
Day 2:
Our second day we were greeted by the sun. The weather in the city was at the start of a week of temperatures hovering between 70-85 degrees. Ally and I roamed the city checking out a bunch of shops and heading into Brooklyn to see Liebe's apartment and his dog, Leroy. We eventually met up with our friend Becca at a bar that had skeeball and a free personal pizza with every $6 beer (which is cheap for NYC even without the pizza). After a few beers, Ally and I headed back to the apartment to take a nap. After the nap, we called Becca and learned that she had fallen on her face and skinned it pretty badly. So we were only able to meet up with Liebe. The three of us went to a few bars, but being a Friday night in NYC, it was difficult to find a bar that didn't have a line or was completely packed. Ally wasn't feeling great, so we parted ways sort of early and went back to the apartment.
Day 3:
Saturday was Ally's birthday. Our friend Kristy came down from Connecticut. The three of us had lunch and walked down to Canal street in China Town in search of blackmarket goods. We were brought into a locked room in a building that seemed abandoned where we found a fake Coach bag that Ally got as a gift for a friend. We had reservations at Les Halles for 6, but with Becca's face getting worse she and her boyfriend Kit had to back out. We found our group of 6 cut down to 3, so we headed to Park Avenue, changed the reservation, and had a few drinks at a bar up the street. Dinner at Les Halles was excellent. The portions were surprisingly big, the food was delicious, and the ambiance was great. My pan seared scallops with caviar was delicious. After dinner, we met up with a bunch of people at a bar called Hop Devil where we celebrated Ally's birthday. After we left there, the group sort of broke apart and the few of us remaining walked around the East Village looking for a place to drink. The last bar we went to sucked and it sort of ruined the atmosphere of the night so we all went home for the night. Back at Camille's apartment, Ally and I were woken up around 3:30 by Camille and her friend Greta. They were wasted, and Greta had just fallen and hit her head in the elevator. I was afraid we were going to have to take her to the hospital.
Day 4:
We were woken up in the morning by Camille and Greta who were both amazingly chipper. They wanted brunch, and so did Ally and I. We walked for about 15 minutes to a place that had an awesome southern style brunch. For $10.95 I had coffee, a beer, cornbread, potatoes, 2 buttermilk biscuits, 2 sausage patties, 2 fried eggs, collard greens, and cheesy grits. It was all really great. After brunch we headed to Central Park where we sat by the lake at the Boat House and had Mai Tais, Screwdrivers, and a delicious cheese plate. I think the previous night finally caught up with Camille and Greta so they parted ways with us and Ally and I went to the Natural History Museum. We found ourselves extremely worn out so we returned to the apartment. Camille ordered cheesesteaks and onion rings which were delivered in. After we ate, Ally and I headed back to Brooklyn to meet up with Tyrel's friend Dan Hart. After spending every night in the city, it was refreshing to head out to bars that reminded us of home. Dan took us to bars that were dark, had cheap cans of beer, blasted loud indie and punk rock, had games like a man-made minigolf course (complete with a PBR windmill and a robot), a photo booth, and a shot of whiskey with a chaser of spicy pickle juice. When 4:45am finally rolled around and the announcement in the subway stop told us it would be 18 minutes before the next train showed up, we decided to take a private car into the city. It was expensive, but it was worth being back at the apartment that much quicker.
Day 5:
We woke up the next morning, okay maybe it was the afternoon, pretty hung over. We forced ourselves to wake up, since we had planned to head out to Coney Island since we wanted to see the amusement park before the company that recently bought it demolished it and built condos in its place. We ate a delicious lunch of pasta with Vodka sauce, which we probably under appreciated due to our hangovers. Once out at Coney Island, we played some games like skeeball, rode the rollercoater, walked on the beach, and ate world famous Nathan's hotdogs right at the source. We headed back to the city and treated Camille and Kendall to dinner at a Korean BBQ restaurant as thanks for giving us a place to stay for the week. After dinner, we headed back to Brooklyn to meet up with Liebe, his fiance Corrine, Dan Hart, and Tyrel (who had flown in froma business trip in Germany). We ended up at the same bars as the previous night which proved to still feel like home, but unable to live up to the fun of the night before.
Day 6:
We woke up on our last morning in town and packed up our stuff. We headed out towards China Town again in search of gifts for our close friends. After we had picked up our gifts, we headed towards Becca's work in midtown so that we could have lunch with her now that her face was feeling a bit better. On the way there, we walked past Michael Stipe (unfortunately our only celebrity sighting). Liebe met up with us and the four of us had dinner at a Thai restaurant in Hell's Kitchen. After lunch Liebe took us through Time's Square and shared a last beer with us. We parted ways with Liebe, went back to the apartment to grab our bags, hailed a cab to Penn Station, rode the Long Island RR to to the airport, and headed back home. We had had a lot of fun,but we were ready to get back to our own bed, our own shower, and most importantly, our pets.
Looking back on it now, it's hard to remember all of the details. I'm sure I'm going to leave out a bunch of important facts. I'll tell you what comes to mind now as I type, and let the pictures embellish the story. There are a lot of pictures, so you'll have to check out the picasa page (click here) to see all of the pics, good and bad. Ally is also working on a blog of her own so that you can get her side of the story too.
Day 1:
Our red-eye flight made us zombies as we arrived at JFK around 8:30 in the morning. We found our way to the subway and tried to stay awake on the ride in to the city. We finally arrived at our friend Camille and her boyfriend Kendall's place in Nolita (North of Little Italy). Ally and I took a nap, from which I awoke first and took a short walk around the neighborhood in search of coffee. After I returned to the apartment, Ally woke up, and Camille returned we all headed out to McSorely's where we enjoyed the beer, the history, the 150+ years of beer soaked wood and dust on the chandeliers. After that, we had an amazing pizza and headed to a few bars. Eventually Ryan Liebe and Camille's boyfriend Kendall met up with us. After beer and skeeball, we called it an early night (sort of), but not until after we picked up some Pommes Frites and devoured them as if they were our last meal.
Day 2:
Our second day we were greeted by the sun. The weather in the city was at the start of a week of temperatures hovering between 70-85 degrees. Ally and I roamed the city checking out a bunch of shops and heading into Brooklyn to see Liebe's apartment and his dog, Leroy. We eventually met up with our friend Becca at a bar that had skeeball and a free personal pizza with every $6 beer (which is cheap for NYC even without the pizza). After a few beers, Ally and I headed back to the apartment to take a nap. After the nap, we called Becca and learned that she had fallen on her face and skinned it pretty badly. So we were only able to meet up with Liebe. The three of us went to a few bars, but being a Friday night in NYC, it was difficult to find a bar that didn't have a line or was completely packed. Ally wasn't feeling great, so we parted ways sort of early and went back to the apartment.
Day 3:
Saturday was Ally's birthday. Our friend Kristy came down from Connecticut. The three of us had lunch and walked down to Canal street in China Town in search of blackmarket goods. We were brought into a locked room in a building that seemed abandoned where we found a fake Coach bag that Ally got as a gift for a friend. We had reservations at Les Halles for 6, but with Becca's face getting worse she and her boyfriend Kit had to back out. We found our group of 6 cut down to 3, so we headed to Park Avenue, changed the reservation, and had a few drinks at a bar up the street. Dinner at Les Halles was excellent. The portions were surprisingly big, the food was delicious, and the ambiance was great. My pan seared scallops with caviar was delicious. After dinner, we met up with a bunch of people at a bar called Hop Devil where we celebrated Ally's birthday. After we left there, the group sort of broke apart and the few of us remaining walked around the East Village looking for a place to drink. The last bar we went to sucked and it sort of ruined the atmosphere of the night so we all went home for the night. Back at Camille's apartment, Ally and I were woken up around 3:30 by Camille and her friend Greta. They were wasted, and Greta had just fallen and hit her head in the elevator. I was afraid we were going to have to take her to the hospital.
Day 4:
We were woken up in the morning by Camille and Greta who were both amazingly chipper. They wanted brunch, and so did Ally and I. We walked for about 15 minutes to a place that had an awesome southern style brunch. For $10.95 I had coffee, a beer, cornbread, potatoes, 2 buttermilk biscuits, 2 sausage patties, 2 fried eggs, collard greens, and cheesy grits. It was all really great. After brunch we headed to Central Park where we sat by the lake at the Boat House and had Mai Tais, Screwdrivers, and a delicious cheese plate. I think the previous night finally caught up with Camille and Greta so they parted ways with us and Ally and I went to the Natural History Museum. We found ourselves extremely worn out so we returned to the apartment. Camille ordered cheesesteaks and onion rings which were delivered in. After we ate, Ally and I headed back to Brooklyn to meet up with Tyrel's friend Dan Hart. After spending every night in the city, it was refreshing to head out to bars that reminded us of home. Dan took us to bars that were dark, had cheap cans of beer, blasted loud indie and punk rock, had games like a man-made minigolf course (complete with a PBR windmill and a robot), a photo booth, and a shot of whiskey with a chaser of spicy pickle juice. When 4:45am finally rolled around and the announcement in the subway stop told us it would be 18 minutes before the next train showed up, we decided to take a private car into the city. It was expensive, but it was worth being back at the apartment that much quicker.
Day 5:
We woke up the next morning, okay maybe it was the afternoon, pretty hung over. We forced ourselves to wake up, since we had planned to head out to Coney Island since we wanted to see the amusement park before the company that recently bought it demolished it and built condos in its place. We ate a delicious lunch of pasta with Vodka sauce, which we probably under appreciated due to our hangovers. Once out at Coney Island, we played some games like skeeball, rode the rollercoater, walked on the beach, and ate world famous Nathan's hotdogs right at the source. We headed back to the city and treated Camille and Kendall to dinner at a Korean BBQ restaurant as thanks for giving us a place to stay for the week. After dinner, we headed back to Brooklyn to meet up with Liebe, his fiance Corrine, Dan Hart, and Tyrel (who had flown in froma business trip in Germany). We ended up at the same bars as the previous night which proved to still feel like home, but unable to live up to the fun of the night before.
Day 6:
We woke up on our last morning in town and packed up our stuff. We headed out towards China Town again in search of gifts for our close friends. After we had picked up our gifts, we headed towards Becca's work in midtown so that we could have lunch with her now that her face was feeling a bit better. On the way there, we walked past Michael Stipe (unfortunately our only celebrity sighting). Liebe met up with us and the four of us had dinner at a Thai restaurant in Hell's Kitchen. After lunch Liebe took us through Time's Square and shared a last beer with us. We parted ways with Liebe, went back to the apartment to grab our bags, hailed a cab to Penn Station, rode the Long Island RR to to the airport, and headed back home. We had had a lot of fun,but we were ready to get back to our own bed, our own shower, and most importantly, our pets.
we're back
It's late and I want to sleep in my own bed for the first time in nearly a week. You'll all have to wait to see pictures.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
finally!
In about 6 hours, Ally and I will be on a flight to NYC.
We're both pretty excited. It's been hard to wait for this day to come, but it's finally here.
I'm looking forward to so many things. Pizza, skeeball, bars that stay open until 4am, friends, Pommes Frites, and Les Halles to name a few things.
I'm sure the time will fly by, I hope we make the best of it. For now, I need to run a few last minute errands and get packed.
We're both pretty excited. It's been hard to wait for this day to come, but it's finally here.
I'm looking forward to so many things. Pizza, skeeball, bars that stay open until 4am, friends, Pommes Frites, and Les Halles to name a few things.
I'm sure the time will fly by, I hope we make the best of it. For now, I need to run a few last minute errands and get packed.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Catholicism ... wow
On Saturday, Ally and I went to Keizer to see my niece get baptized. I am now her godfather.
I was raised going to church, but not a Catholic church. The only time I had previously been to a Catholic mass was for a wedding.
I am in no way religious, so going to a church felt pretty weird. What made it even more weird was just the nature of Catholicism. I feel like Catholicism has more to do with tradition than actual faith or spirituality. Most of the things that I find creepy about religions were all part of the ceremony. It's as if "things" are more important than god. The priest kept kissing the altar and the fancy bible he had. The congregation knew exactly when to stand up, when to sit down, when to kneel, and when to recite a prayer (as well as which prayer to recite at that moment). The only things missing that would have creeped me out more would have been snakes and people talking in tongues.
I hope I never have to go to a Catholic mass again. Really, I hope I never have to go to a church again. I guess I was probably a pretty bad choice for godfather.
I was raised going to church, but not a Catholic church. The only time I had previously been to a Catholic mass was for a wedding.
I am in no way religious, so going to a church felt pretty weird. What made it even more weird was just the nature of Catholicism. I feel like Catholicism has more to do with tradition than actual faith or spirituality. Most of the things that I find creepy about religions were all part of the ceremony. It's as if "things" are more important than god. The priest kept kissing the altar and the fancy bible he had. The congregation knew exactly when to stand up, when to sit down, when to kneel, and when to recite a prayer (as well as which prayer to recite at that moment). The only things missing that would have creeped me out more would have been snakes and people talking in tongues.
I hope I never have to go to a Catholic mass again. Really, I hope I never have to go to a church again. I guess I was probably a pretty bad choice for godfather.
Friday, April 13, 2007
check out my map
In my links to the right ----->
you will find a link to my map. On this map I have pointed out some of the places I have talked about on this blog. These are the places Ally and I frequent. Bars, restaurants, my house, my work, etc. I will try to update the map on a regular basis when I talk about places on this blog so that you can get an idea of where things are in Portland (if you care).
you will find a link to my map. On this map I have pointed out some of the places I have talked about on this blog. These are the places Ally and I frequent. Bars, restaurants, my house, my work, etc. I will try to update the map on a regular basis when I talk about places on this blog so that you can get an idea of where things are in Portland (if you care).
Thursday, April 12, 2007
So it goes
My favorite author died yesterday. He was old so it isn't really a shock, just sad.
R.I.P. Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
R.I.P. Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
good and bad
First off, the good:
Last weekend I bought a new camera. I have been feeling lately like I don't take enough pictures. I studied photography in college, yet I rarely pick up a camera just for fun or to create art. One of the reasons for this is that after working at a camera store for 4 years, I was used to being able to develop and print my own pictures. I don't like the idea of letting someone else have that much say when it comes to my art. So, I made the decision to spend some of the money we are saving from not having to pay the mortgage this month on a digital SLR. I already had a Canon SLR with a couple of lenses, so I decided to buy just the camera body. I bought a Canon Rebel XT. It's pretty great. I can't wait to take it to NYC and take a bunch of photos.
Now the bad:
Odin got sick again. His symptoms were exactly the same as when he was sick a few weeks ago. However, with the news of all of the pet food recalls happening lately and pets dying from eating tainted food, this time I was extremely nervous and scared. I thought for sure that the vet had misdiagnosed his symptoms and now he was going to die from kidney failure. I felt like there was nothing that could be done. Because of this hopelessness, I waited quite a while to take him to the vet, instead giving him some Pepto and waiting it out so that I didn't have to pay the high cost of taking him to the emergency vet. When he finally got to the vet, he wasn't vomiting or having any diarrhea anymore. The vet checked him out and diagnosed that last time he came in he had Giardia, which was treated with the medicine in the IV he was given. But, since he didn't stay on the medicine it came back. This time I was given pills, and a much less expensive vet bill and sent home. His appetite is back and he hasn't had any unnecessary or projectile bodily fluids in two days. All I can do now is hope that the diagnosis was correct, and that the medicine takes care of the problem for good this time.
Last weekend I bought a new camera. I have been feeling lately like I don't take enough pictures. I studied photography in college, yet I rarely pick up a camera just for fun or to create art. One of the reasons for this is that after working at a camera store for 4 years, I was used to being able to develop and print my own pictures. I don't like the idea of letting someone else have that much say when it comes to my art. So, I made the decision to spend some of the money we are saving from not having to pay the mortgage this month on a digital SLR. I already had a Canon SLR with a couple of lenses, so I decided to buy just the camera body. I bought a Canon Rebel XT. It's pretty great. I can't wait to take it to NYC and take a bunch of photos.
Now the bad:
Odin got sick again. His symptoms were exactly the same as when he was sick a few weeks ago. However, with the news of all of the pet food recalls happening lately and pets dying from eating tainted food, this time I was extremely nervous and scared. I thought for sure that the vet had misdiagnosed his symptoms and now he was going to die from kidney failure. I felt like there was nothing that could be done. Because of this hopelessness, I waited quite a while to take him to the vet, instead giving him some Pepto and waiting it out so that I didn't have to pay the high cost of taking him to the emergency vet. When he finally got to the vet, he wasn't vomiting or having any diarrhea anymore. The vet checked him out and diagnosed that last time he came in he had Giardia, which was treated with the medicine in the IV he was given. But, since he didn't stay on the medicine it came back. This time I was given pills, and a much less expensive vet bill and sent home. His appetite is back and he hasn't had any unnecessary or projectile bodily fluids in two days. All I can do now is hope that the diagnosis was correct, and that the medicine takes care of the problem for good this time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
