Boooo!

So I was going to go to a protest for the State of the Union address tonight, but at the time to go it was 37 degrees, windy and pouring. So I ran to the store and grabbed some beer to stomach, which I'm pulverizing already and the speech hasn't even started yet.

To be updated.

*GAG*

This is difficult. Time to chug.

"If somebody's callin' al Qaeda we want to listen so.." blah blah blah. SO GET A WARRANT!!!!! You can get one up to THREE DAYS AFTER - AFTER - LISTENING IN ON THEM! WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID?????????

And they clapped for about two straight minutes after that. Scum.

Ugh, Daily Kos has the speech text up and..... sooooooooo much longer to go! Dammit!

OH FOR GODSAKES!!! "Human life is a gift from our creator..." jeezus. This is his justification for not allowing research into human cloning. But he'll allow testing of pesticides on children and pregnant women.

Oh thank god it's over. Wow. I can't believe I managed to sit through that.

I need another beer.

Not cool

I was just about to write a reply to a comment that Charlie had left, but just as my fingers touched the keyboard something strange happened. The whole atmosphere of my world changed. It wasn't a sound, it.... was it.... IS it... an EARTHQUAKE? My mind raced for alternative possibilities. Door slam? Neighbors wrestling? Huge blast of wind? Nahh, there was no sound... the building silently rumbled like we were on a boat. My stomach lurched.

One of my classes had us read an article about an earthquake that hit the Seattle area on the 26th of January, 1700. How do they know that exactly? It sent a tsunami all the way to Japan where it killed thousands of people. Let's just say the Japanese took note of it. The quake was thought about 9.2 and had it happened now would have caused unimaginable carnage.

I raced to the tv to see if what felt like a little quake down here wasn't actually a huge one up in Seattle. Nothing was mentioned about it for 20 minutes, which made me feel better. Turns out, it was a wee quake of about 2.8, centered in the Portland area.

Last night, according to my youngest sister, my dad woke up in the middle of a thunderstorm and ran through the house screaming, "GET UP GET UP GET UP!" He thought there was an earthquake and not only that, he insisted that my mom get on the national oceanianic whatever website, at four o'clock in the morning, to see if there was a tsunami with the supposed earthquake. Poor dad, everyone teases him.

After a walk and some yummy pasta, I'm feeling normal again. I can't say I like these earthquake things. Nope, not one bit.

Come rain or hail or wind or snow

The Army called today. "Hi, this is Sergeant so and so with blah blah unit. I just spoke with your mother -" I hid my bewilderment well. I could hear myself talking in a polite, calm, even rational voice. Why would the Army call my mom? It seemed that the nice, young sergeant just needed an updated address.

"Have you received mobilization orders yet?" Um, shouldn't YOU know that? was my first thought. But then it occurred to me that maybe it wasn't army inefficiency and miscommunication, but rather she had meant, "I mailed your mobilization orders 3 weeks ago, have you gotten them yet?" Once again, I heard myself saying reasonable things in a reasonable tone. Who IS this calm and collected person in my head?

Turns out, disorganization was the cause. She then tried to sell me on signing up for the army reserves, which produced a good hearty chuckle on my part.

I am a little concerned though. As was discussed on Diane's blog, Canada is no longer a safe haven, a handful of people were called up just before Christmas, and General Casey, top dog in Iraq, says the Army is 'stretched.' Not good news. It all makes me very, very nervous.

Come rain or hail or wind or snow
I'm not goin' out to Baghdad oh
There's fightin' in Texas to be done
Let your Sergeants and your commanders go
Let oil men fight oil wars
It's nearly time they started oh
I saluted the Sergeant a very good night
There and then we parted OH!

-- "The Recruitin' Sergeant" Traditional, sang by the Pogues
Lyrics corrupted by Sara... And I don't need no accuser!

This thing popped out today. Forgot it was there and it startled me for a second. After years of living in inferior places where giant snowy mountains aren't looming, it comes as a shock to me when it appears. This is Mt. Hood, by the way. And my fair city of Portland.













I walked home through the sunshine to find a letter from my good friend Jenn, who is traveling around, staying in squats and generally living it up in Europe; a comment from AST; an email from Amy; and a new pair of pants (turns out they don't fit, but who doesn't like getting clothes in the mail?). Oh and Jenn's very nice, handwritten letter - such a rarity these days - included a rubbing of Peter Kropotkin from Angel Alley, Whitechapel, London. It's very neat and just like her to include something artsy. Wayyyy cooler than a postcard, Jenn. Thank you!

Note to AST in regards to recruiting the college bubbleheads: This is Portland, man. One of the reasons I came back here is because of the mega-majority of freethinking, anti-war, happy leftists. I haven't met a single college student, NOT ONE, who has identified him/herself as a war supporter. They play Air America in the cafeteria. I did meet some vets awhile back and they said the only problems they've had have been with the overzealous hippy kids who immediately assume the vets are going to be asshole oo-rah lifer type. I've not seen fit to spill my past yet.

I did see two dudes in ACUs and patrol caps speeding through downtown today. I was confused by this for a number of reasons, namely 1) no BERETS??? If this isn't garrison, garrison doesn't exist; and 2) what are they doing near campus in Portland? Anyway, it annoyed me that they were there, annoyed me that they ran the redlight and nearly killed a pedestrian and annoyed me that they made me think about their headgear for more than..... well, any length of time spent analyzing a fucking hat is too long.

I'm kinda itchin' for a fight though. I can't wait for some asshole to pop off at the mouth when I'm in earshot. It'd be even better if it were directed at me.

These songs of freedom

Hey, Sara. Remember that day you found a Clash CD at the library? The one without a title, it started off with "He's in love with rock n roll whoaa!" Remember the big stupid grin on your face when that song came on? Remember when "I'm So Bored with the U.S.A." played you immediately thought, "I have to learn this song!" And so you sat down and did. One of the first songs you learned.

Remember about a year later when you gathered up some money from birthdays and returned bottles, and went to the record store, Happy Trails? You bought Bad Religion's Generator and a used copy of London Calling. "This is different...." you thought. Halfway through "Rudy Can't Fail," the fifth song, you knew it was to be one of your favorite records of all time. Still is, isn't it? The first few notes of "Guns of Brixton" will always take you back to this day, lying on your bed, staring out the window and thinking to yourself that you'd been born twenty years too late.

Another memory for ya. You may not remember this, as you couldn't have been more than 3 or 4. You and your mom danced around the living room to "Rock the Casbah." Mom would snap her fingers when she danced. You couldn't do that. You were content to stomp your feet and jump, waving your arms around, smiling. Not much has changed, eh?

So Sara, with all these great memories, why - OH WHY - was it not until last night that you listened to Joe Strummer's solo stuff?

Sara may have an answer later. For now she can't stop listening to Streetcore, particularly that Bob Marley cover called "Redemption Song."

Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom
Cuz all I've ever had
Redemption songs
These songs of freedom
These songs of freedom

Behold the power of shoes!

I seem to have acquired a case of the stupids. Either that or corporate America really IS using mind-control devices. Yesterday, for no apparent reason, I got off at the wrong train stop. I ride this exact route at least twice a day and I've managed to get myself home staggering drunk on a number of occasions. I didn't even realize it until I'd crossed the tracks and thought, "Heyyyyyyyyy, wait a minute!"

While I was there, I figured I'd head over to Fred Meyer's and get a bag for my new lappie. [note: Fred Meyer is a northwest department/grocery store chain that is smaller and far higher quality than any Wal-Mart. Been around longer, too.] So I wandered through the sea of parking lots and four-lane roads and walked in the side door. What is immediately staring me in the face? A wall of shoes with a 50% off clearance tag set on top. $20 Vans!! I, on the best of days, have a fairly weak resistance to 50% off sales, but shoes??? I'm a goner. Into the basket went a cute pair of black and pink (what? Sara owns something with PINK? It's mostly black, that's my excuse.)

Next, I'm trying to get to find the section that would sell handbags and I run into a stand with a sale on powerbars. Who puts powerbars on sale? Someone smart, apparently, because I took full advantage of that sale. Why the fuck did I need powerbars? Oh, and they're not the gross chewy "chocolate" disgust, but more of the organic, granola bar type.

Then I found lightbulbs! And a coffee mug! And hair products!

I walked out with a full load, but ya know what I didn't get? A freakin' bag. For the effort, I bought myself a latte and trudged the extra mile home.

Worst Girlfriend Ever

I just got my Christmas present from Tony and do you know what he got me? A LAPTOP. A friggin LAPTOP. I got him POPCORN for godsake!!!! And some homemade CDs with a million awesome songs........ but damn do I feel like an asshole. It's a wonder he still speaks to me.

These days

As I'm walking in the rain
The birds are screamin in my ear
and it's driving me insane

OK, sorry to beat you about the head again with my current fixation of Flogging Molly, but this song has been in my head all week and it is, in fact, driving me insane. But in a good way, I suppose.

Speaking of Flogging Molly, they have tour dates posted through March only - none of which include an Oregon show - and there are rumors of a new album. That's great news, except that making an album means not touring. So what am I going to do? Well, I'm going to drive all the way up to Seattle and back on a WEEKNIGHT to see them. Am I crazy? Absolutely. But we've established that loooooooong ago and it's entirely beside the point here. The point is, they're really the kind of band that inspires otherwise lazy individuals to drive four hours in one direction just to get a fix. They're THAT addictive. Really.

School is just great. There's no other way to describe it. I sit in class for an hour or so, learning all kinds of crazy things and then I go home. Sometimes I stop at the Cheerful Tortoise, have a beer or three and watch some soccer. Sometimes I take the long way over to the train stop and see some of Portland's neighborhoods. Most of the time that I'm outdoors it's raining, but that's ok, too. The cafeteria this morning was playing Air America (a liberal talk radio network) and even the VA office has friendly people in it. I can hardly believe how different life is from just one year ago. Amazing!

IT'S SUNNY!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my GOD the sun is out!!!! Shield your eyes! Slather on the sunscreen! I'm heading into Vitamin D overload!

Whew. It's gone.

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

Commuter humor

An American in Dublin told me a joke he had heard while researching his trip. Q: "When does the sun come up in Ireland?" A:"Around June." Haha! Except that I've been telling that joke about Oregon for years.

Today, during a steamy train ride past gridlocked highways, the operator came on. I was a little worried, as the only time that has happened in the past was when there was a problem. When my sister was here, there was something stuck on the train. Of course, we immediately flipped into our best William Shatner/Jim Carrey imitations of, "There's.... something on the train! Some.... thing!"

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen," he began in a slow, pilot's drawl. "The time is approximately 8:27 and we are just now coming into a wet and blustery downtown Portland. The temperature is expected to reach 50 degrees today. I hope you all have a wonderful day." The sarcasm was appreciated by much of the car and someone snorted, "What, is he on the move-out-of-Oregon committee?"

Class was pretty ok. My afternoon class was a sophomore university studies thing which involves hanging out with - surprise! - sophomores, many of whom are 19 years old. At least my archaeology class had some age. 19-year-olds drive me crazy, especially when I can't yell at them and make them do pushups. (Not that I made people do pushups in the army, but the threat was there.) My favorite quote from that class? "What is the definition of 'natural'?" 19-year-old: "Uh, from nature?" I think I actually smacked my head.

First Day of School

Tomorrow! I'm a little nervous, believe it or not. Systems in general make me nervous nowadays, though. At least there will be no yelling or incoming or pushups.

Archaeology, first thing in the morning!

The 2nd New Year's Resolution

More guitar playing! I've no roomates, parents or any others to distract, dissuade or deter my quest to be a rock goddess. Or to play more than a few chords. I've enjoyed my time doing nothing so much that I've decided that I really don't want to work ever again. If after these three years or so of college I find myself in a remotely similar position of unhappiness as I was in the army, I am going to be quite displeased with myself.

I've been sort of playing the guitar since I was 14. Despite my years of school band, I knew nothing of music theory other than the simple reading of sheet music. Chords, scales, keys I couldn't tell ya about. Books on music theory, if you've never read them, can make calculus seem easy in comparison. So it's been hit and miss for these past years, but now it's starting to come together. I've found I can play numerous Against Me! songs and even a couple from Flogging Molly! It's a start, I suppose....

Here's to no more day jobs!!!!

POKER IS NOT A SPORT!!!!!

I have 3 sports channels. At any given moment on one of these 3 channels there is a poker game on. WHEN DID CARDS BECOME A SPORT????? As we speak the channel lineup looks like this: poker, figure skating, and.... A SPELLING BEE????????? In case anyone forgot, soccer is the most popular sport in the world. Why must it be so difficult to watch a friggin game? Even the good ol' Cheerful Tortoise with its 30 TVs wasn't playing any soccer today. Every TV in the place was on some football game. All of the important football games were played yesterday (Seattle, Pittsburgh) so this must have been a stupid bowl game, which is even less interesting. *grumble*

Oh, and since when is January 2nd a holiday? All the buildings on campus were closed and I didn't get any mail.

On the bright side, it was a really nice day. Cloudy and sunny all at the same time, giving the city a textured beautiful look. I got all dressed up (which means I wore a clean t-shirt and my leather jacket) and was looking quite lovely. A homeless man even said so! I found a new way to walk to campus from the train stop through a nice park with a bunch of statues in it.

Best of all I think I figured out what to do this summer: ROAD TRIP THROUGH CANADA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course there are details to be worked out, but I'll get to that eventually. Hostels, concerts, no responsibilities.... ahhhh, I can't wait!

Update: Does FSN read my blog? Cuz there's soccer on all of the sudden. haha! THANK YOU TV GODS!

The first New Year resolution

If I absolutely MUST blog while drunk, I hereby resolve to push the 'Save as Draft' button and review the post when sober before publishing for all the world to see.