Ahh, Portland (Temporarily)

My flight Monday night was delayed, of course, and so I didn't make it in to PDX until about 1:30am. When I made my way out to the taxi queue (I love that word. I really love spelling it out loud, "kyoo-yoo-ee-yoo-eeeeee!") a lesbian couple in line in front of me were having some sort of problem.

"Um, this man made us very uncomfortable," she says to the woman in charge of matching people to cabs in reference to the first driver who was standing outside his car looking rather bewildered. So the woman went to explain to the cab driver to not say to passengers whatever he said to the women, and the couple went to find someone more PC to take them home.

"I don't understand," said one of them, "This is Portland. What the hell?"

Ahhh yes, yes it is Portland. Someone who probably doesn't even speak English very well attempted to make a joke and deeply offended someone who then expected someone else to take care of it and be just as deeply offended. Or at least act like it. The only way this could have been more Portland is if one of the parties was on a bike.

Tuesday morning I managed to get out of bed on time, chat with the housemate and his sister and make it out the door on schedule. School was uneventful, if tiring. All of my classes or on Tuesday or Thursday, and Tuesdays go from 10am to 9pm. I was practically delirious as I rode the bus home with the early evening drunks.

Wednesday, after forcing myself to sleep in, I took the bus in to take care of some errands. What a beautiful day! Sometime while I was gone the trees started sprouting flowers and the icky hailstorms I heard about had given way to warm sun, which was pulling itself from behind a snowpacked Mt. Hood, and splashing against the highrises across the river. Public transportation! Mountains! A clean city! GOD I MISSED PORTLAND!!!!

And things just got better. There was no line at the bookstore and I chatted with a friend who as it turns out, was in Wyoming just a day before I got stuck there. One of my classes requires a book that's only available from a feminist bookstore which is lodged in an old brick building with a beautiful hidden courtyard that's filled with flowers and green leaves that have already begun sprouting.

The park blocks, typical of the first really nice days of the year, were nuts. Everyone gets out there when the sun starts shining, and man have we waited a while for that to happen! A string quartet was miked up and blasting classical music, a Snapple truck with a platoon of perky volunteers handed out free drinks, and my giant burrito with extra guacamole only clocked in at $5. C-SPAN, for whatever reason, had a "2008 Political Bus" and accompanying camera crew present, I chatted with one of Portland's mayoral candidates, and registered to vote (at my new address) at the Obama '08 campaign table. Everyone, walking around or sitting, had these dreamy smiles on their faces and unconsciously paused in spots of sunshine. Either everyone is pleased to death the weather has improved or the entire campus was stoned.

Since I was on such a roll, I decided to brave the crowds and get a new transit pass, only to find the building completely empty, save the clerk who took all of ten seconds to give me a new sticker. Whoa. Then I headed to the veteran's affairs office and en route, ran into the founder of the veteran's club and briefly caught up with him. Turned in my papers so as to get a paycheck as soon as possible, and picked up the last of the first round of books this term.

I missed the Arsenal v Liverpool game during all of this, but that's ok, they play each other two more times this week. I did catch the rerun of the Chelsea v Some-Turkish-Team-That-Starts-With-An-F who to my delight defeated those boring snobs with a beautiful goal. hahahaha, gooooo Some Turkish Team!!!

Off to Denver tonight after a long day of class.