A Visit to Portland's Japanese Garden

Portland Japanese Garden
Originally uploaded by andiamotutti.

After saying I wanted to visit the Portland Classical Chinese Garden soon, we ended up making our way elsewhere over the weekend instead. During a lovely window of nice weather on Saturday we climbed up to the Portland Japanese Garden and spent just under an hour wandering around. I, of course, had my camera in tow - which was nice, as I haven't really had a chance to get it out and just play for awhile. As you'll see from the best shots I got that day, I have an odd fondness for those wee pagodas covered in moss. It would be nice to go back later in the year when more things are in bloom. The last time we visited that garden was probably easily seven or eight years ago, so it'd be nice to make a repeat trip without so much time in between.

BootsnAll Treasure Hunt

Let me say at the outset that if you're me or part of my immediate family, you're not eligible to play, so stop reading now lest you be disappointed.

Okay, now that they're all gone, check this out:

Every week for the month of May registered Hunters will have the opportunity to win awesome travel prizes, like hostel booking vouchers and travel books. The grand prizes, though, are what have got us all excited. We're giving away US$2000 towards a round-the-world ticket, an adventure trip in Turkey, Eurail passes and a whole lot more.

Sound good? It is good. Here's where to register.

And go ahead and spread the word - tell your friends about the BootsnAll Treasure Hunt - just make sure they're not related to me, that's all.

Portland's Horse Project

Horse Project
Originally uploaded by andiamotutti.

Well, this is a little blast from the past for me. Last year, when I was still reading blogs that didn't have anything to do with work, one of the blogs I read was called Ride My Handlebars. It was a delightful blog (I'm sure it still is) - and the thing I remember most about it was a whole series of entries about The Horse Project.

If you're familiar with Portland, you've seen those little metal rings on some sidewalks and you've wondered, what on earth are those for? The answer is simple - it's to tie up your car so it doesn't get away. (Kidding.) Honestly, it's quite possible those rings were put on the earth for the exact purpose for which they're currently being used. See, there are these wonderful people who go around and attach toy plastic horses to these metal rings all over town. I'd seen pictures of them on Ride My Handlebars, but had never seen one with my own eyes - until last week.

One of my coworkers stood at the front door of the house which is our office and said, "Did you see the horse tied up outside?" Now, this house is on a busy street, so I thought he was sounding a wee bit crazy - until I stepped to the window and saw it across the street. I think I squealed. It happened to be that brilliantly sunny day we had recently, so I ran outside with my camera to get a few shots of it. I'm pleased to report that when I was last in the office two days ago, it was still there. It was lying in the gutter covered with leaves, so I picked it up and put it back upright on the curb, but it was still there.

Anyway, if you want to learn a little more about the fantastic people who are injecting Portland with a little whimsy, go to The Horse Project part of their website.

A (Late) Easter Bunny Funny

This was introduced to us at a dinner party over the weekend, and though Easter has now come and gone for the year, I can't resist posting it here. If I wait until next year, I'll forget, and it's too amusing to rely on my stupid memory...


Thanks to Lynn for sharing.

Mocking "My Humps"

I'm not a Will Farrell fan, but the scene in the preview for his new ice skating movie where he's on a treadmill singing Fergie's "My Humps" makes me giggle. Alanis Morissette, however, has upped the ante significantly with her rendition of the song.



You go, girl. Thanks to William Bragg for the pointer.

(Oh, and you may have noticed some changes to the look of things around here; I just finally got around to upgrading the template with the new Blogger. Even though I don't totally love it, I'm probably too lazy to mess with it too much again.)

The Two-Minute Haggadah

Last night Chris & I went to the pre-Passover Seder celebration of a friend, which she called "Passover Lite." Even though we didn't read from this fabulous Two-Minute Haggadah, I wanted to share it with all y'all - especially the gentiles among you - as it's not only a speedy way to understand the whole Passover thing, it's also freaking hysterical. Here's just an excerpt:

Four questions:
1. What's up with the matzoh?
2. What's the deal with horseradish?
3. What's with the dipping of the herbs?
4. What's this whole slouching at the table business?

Answers:
1. When we left Egypt, we were in a hurry. There was no time for making decent bread.
2. Life was bitter, like horseradish.
3. It's called symbolism.
4. Free people get to slouch.

But really, you should read the whole thing. I mean, it'll take you all of two minutes (barring several minutes set aside for convulsive laughter, that is), so surely you can spare the time.

Happy Pesach to all, and to all a Good Night.

The Final Countdown

It's very strange to be contemplating not going into my old job anymore, even once a week. I'm not complaining, mind you - I've been wanting this change for awhile now, and I'm glad I won't be pulled in as many directions anymore. It's just, well, strange. I've known Sam since 1995, and have been working for him now (the second time) since 2002. I've never been good with change, even when it was a change I wanted, and this is no exception.

So, tomorrow I'll go over and help train my replacement on a few things she doesn't already know how to do, and I'll expect phone calls now and again when there's something they can't find. But for the most part, this is the part where I move on. I have my concerns about my replacement's ability to do the job the way I know Sam wants it done, and I even half-thought I should go in there once a month or something, on weekends, just to check on things... But that's more a symptom of my inability to let go than anything else. And while the new gal won't do things exactly the way I did them, she'll do fine. She'll learn, and she'll do fine.

At any rate, this is just another chapter in my life ending and another beginning, though without clear definitions between them. This could take some getting used to.

(And anyone who immediately started humming that Europe song from 1980-something when they read the title of this post, like I did when I wrote it, gets huge bonus points from this hair-band aficionado.)

Waiting for Sun

Water Lilies
Originally uploaded by andiamotutti.

Chris and I have a membership to the Portland Classical Chinese Garden, but it's been too long since we visited. Browsing through my Flickr photos of the garden reminded me of that. Every time you go, the garden is a little different - so it pays to go often (something we're very bad at doing). The last time we went, the light was so gorgeous - just looking at the pictures makes today's gloomy weather a little less so.

Fewer Jobs, More Working Hours

I'm happy to report that as of April I'll be increasing my hours at BootsnAll. Happy me! It means lots more writing, which is great - it's not anything glamorous, just copy writing stuff for various parts of the website, but still. I feel like I finally have a job where I get to utilize my affection for writing and where it's actually recognized as being worth utilizing. Not bad.

For awhile, it'll mean more hours at the office, which means fewer hours working from home in my sweats and slippers. It's funny, when I first started working at home last fall I wasn't sure I'd end up liking it - and now I don't want to leave! I do enjoy my co-workers' company, though, so it'll be nice to see more of them. Those boys need a girl around every so often to remind them to behave, after all...

Being full time at BootsnAll also means I'll no longer be working for the mediator/attorney friend who I've known for nearly 12 years now. I'm sure I'll be "on call" with him for awhile, though, which is fine because he lives close by. All in all, I'm glad to be down to just one day-job (plus the teaching). It's been a long time coming, and I've been looking forward to this for awhile. It feels like such a relief.

Words of Wisdom

I opened up a candy wrapper this afternoon to reveal a little "fortune" on the inside. It said:

If they can do it, you know you can, too.

I don't even know how I want to apply that to my life right now - I don't know what that "it" is at the moment - but I like the idea.

The Sunbather

sunbather
Originally uploaded by andiamotutti.

Usually Jasmine is elusive during the workday when I'm in the home office - she'll come and go, visiting for a bit (maybe even hanging out in my lap) and then taking off again. When it's sunny outside, however, that's another story.

It might be cold in reality, but the sun comes streaming through the window of my office all afternoon, casting lovely sunbeams behind my desk. Jasmine routinely takes advantage of them, curling up and falling asleep on the floor behind me. This photo is from a couple weeks ago, but she's actually curled up behind me right now, as I write this.

Whoops, I forgot my own anniversary...

I'm sure you've noticed I haven't been posting much over here lately (though I'm trying to be a little better about it now!) - I've been busy writing in seven gajillion other places for work, so I tend to forget about Andiamo (bad me). I'm so distracted, it turns out, that I forgot my own blog's anniversary!

It's been two years (and a few days) now since I started this blog. Two years. I can't believe it. So many things have happened since I started writing, it'll be interesting to see what my life is like in another two years. Anyway happy anniversary to Andiamo, and to my faithful readers. I know all three of you personally, I think.

I get a summer break, too!

I've just heard from my "boss" at the community college where I teach, and I'll be getting a summer break of my very own. First she was asking if I could teach on Mondays (which I don't like to do), and then I asked whether it would be better to just take the summer off - she said that would make sense, because her enrollment hasn't been so good lately, anyway. And I'm completely relieved. It feels like I've been on a treadmill with the teaching since I started last winter, and even though I love it, it's been hard to give myself a break when I needed it. So, this summer break will be just what I need.

Here's hoping that by the time summer actually does roll around that Chris and I have some inkling of where we'll be living by the end of the year... In which case perhaps we can take off for a little break of our own. Either way, I feel like I'll be able to exhale a bit this summer, which will be nice. Yippee!

Causing a Cat Riot

I swear, officer, I was just making lunch.

I was leaving work today when I smelled something yummy. Someone was making tuna sandwiches, which I haven't had in forever, so I decided I had to make some for myself when I got home. I'd barely punctured the top of the tunafish can with the can opener when I heard a familiar noise behind me. When I turned around, Jasmine (the eldest feline in the house) was already circling my legs, tail in the air and meowing at me. This is, I'll remind you, after barely putting a hole in the top of the can. What kind of superpower sniffers do cats have, for pete's sake?

Anyway, she was doing her happy tunafish dance all over the kitchen (which includes, I might add, banging her head into the cupboards in ecstasy - I'm not kidding) waiting for me to dole out some tuna juice while I finished making the tuna salad. Then she pranced upstairs after me and slurped happily after I poured 1/3 of the juice onto her saucer. The other 2/3 went with me into the guestroom for the other two cats, who were waiting very impatiently at the door when I opened it.

Seriously, how can the cat smell the tuna when I've barely made a hole in the lid of the can? And how can the other two cats smell it almost immediately from all the way upstairs behind a closed door? I would envy their amazing sense of smell, but if I had the same thing I'd have to put up with the bad smells, too, and that's no fun.

(I should point out, for those of you who stumble upon this entry and think we're abusing animals by keeping them locked in the guestroom, that Jasmine and "the twins" don't get along, so we keep them separated at all times. Everyone gets equal time hanging out with us, and everyone's got cushy living quarters, so no one's unhappy. Just wanted to make that clear.)

Getting Up to Date, Musically Speaking

Those who know me know that music is pretty important in my life. Why, then, I've lived with a car that only had a radio and a broken cassette player for something like two years is beyond me. I finally upgraded yesterday, however, to a CD player that even has place for me to plug in my MP3 player. It's a brave new world out there.

Now all I have to do is learn how to select music on the player and drive at the same time. Look out.

George Carlin on Religion

A friend passed this along to me, and, being the heathen I am, I found it pretty amusing. It's definitely not safe for work, and it is rather long (10+ minutes). The first couple minutes alone are pretty good, so if that's all you've got time for, you won't be wasting your time.

At any rate, I give you George Carlin on religion.

Three Square at Saint Cupcake

Chris and I eat pretty well... Usually. We definitely like to indulge, though, and we both have a serious weakness for sugar. We'll take any excuse, therefore, for a stop at Saint Cupcake, and this past Saturday offered an excuse we couldn't pass up.

Saturday, you see, was a Day of Many Gatherings. In the afternoon we drove south to see my brother's new house - his first - and help him celebrate both his post-apartment days and his birthday with most of the rest of my family. (The other brother was absent, attending some silly car race in Las Vegas.) Our contribution to the potluck feast? A 24-count box of dots (those are the mini-sized cakes), which I planted candles in and made my brother blow out. A good time was had by all.

On Saturday evening we went for dinner at a friend's house to sample four different ways of eating the elk he'd shot on his property in SE Washington. We had elk sausage as an appetizer, two side dishes containing more elk sausage, and elk steak. It was all divine. And for dessert? A 12-count box of dots. No candles this time.

I think my favorite part about Saint Cupcake is that they manage to reduce grown-ups to children just by putting cake batter into a tiny paper container and covering it with heaps of icing. The mini-sized dots we brought to the gatherings we attended on Saturday were fun for everyone, ranging in age from eight to 71. Any dessert that can erase any sense of age completely is alright by me.

But I can hear you asking... "You said something about 'three square' in the title, though, and you've only mentioned two meals here." Yes, well, while we're not necessarily proud of this, we don't do it often enough to be all that ashamed of it either. You see, when we picked up all the goodies on Saturday morning, neither of us had had breakfast yet. So we each happily ate a regular-sized cupcake for breakfast. We each had our favorites, too - coconut cream for Chris, red velvet for me. Yum.

(As an aside, it wasn't until I went and fetched the website for Saint Cupcake to link to it here that I realized they've opened a second location! Must go visit...)

Suppli al Telefono

Suppli al Telefono
Originally uploaded by andiamotutti.

Eating Suppli al Telefono
Originally uploaded by andiamotutti.

I've been reading a bunch of blogs lately by expats living in Italy. One of them featured a recipe recently for Suppli al Telefono - they're rice balls (the rice is mixed with tomato sauce) with a bit of mozzarella at the center which are breaded and deep-fried. Chris made them recently after I forwarded the recipe to him, and they're dee-lish.

The photographic evidence of them is to the right, along with the reason they're called "al Telefono" - if you bite into the center of the Suppli and they've been cooked just right, the mozzarella will form a cord from the Suppli to your mouth like a telephone cord. Clever, eh?

Buying Singles

There used to be a time when I'd buy a single song at the record store (back when record stores still sold records), and now with the advent of iTunes I'm back in the habit of doing that again. It no longer involves leaving my house, of course, but the act of buying a single song is fun, and I'm glad to be back in the habit again.

I don't do it often - perhaps one a month on average - and usually it comes in waves. Since I'm getting worse and worse about posting anything on this blog, I thought I'd share some of the singles I've purchased recently:

• Silversun Pickups "Lazy Eye"
• Muse "Starlight"
• Zero 7 "In the Waiting Line"
• The Balls "Ladylike"
• Justin Timberlake "What Goes Around Comes Around"
• Shiny Toy Guns "Le Disko"

I've got a running list of songs I've heard that I like and want to download, and when I get in the mood I just start clicking. In addition to those moods, I also am a habitual downloader of the free single of the week, which has resulted in some new favorite songs. Two that come to mind are "Wound Up" by Office and "New Shoes" by Paolo Nutini. Usually these single downloads don't result in me purchasing an entire CD, but sometimes they do. Either way, it's a fun way to expand my music collection and know that I'm getting exactly what I want.

(Oh, and don't say anything about that Justin Timberlake song, either. I've since heard most of the whole album, and it's a damned fine one. I'm the last person who would ordinarily be willing to admit liking Timberlake, but the CD is great. No snickering allowed until you've heard it yourself. So there.)

Nixon in China

Whenever I started at any new school, one of the orientation checklist items was a tour of the library. Every time, the method the librarians would use to make sure everyone knew how to use the microfilm/microfiche was to find the front page of a newspaper from the day we were born. In my case, it wouldn't have mattered what newspaper I'd chosen, it was always the same thing: "Nixon in China." There have been stories this week about that historic trip to China, because it happened 35 years ago. It's been a reminder to me that I'm also coming up on a milestone birthday.

I love my birthday. I love being the center of attention (those who know me shouldn't be surprised), and I don't have any hangups about getting older. While still in high school I remember finding a couple of gray hairs, which I loved. I forgot about them when I dyed my hair black, so they disappeared. Nowadays, when my hairdresser finds a gray hair on my head, she'll stop mid-sentence, pull a tiny pair of scissors from her tray and snip it off at the root, whispering, "I'll just get rid of that for you..." The whispering reminds me of people who used to whisper the word "cancer" years ago.

Much of the hair on my head is now (and has been for quite awhile) artificially colored, so I'm sure I'll continue to have a majority of non-gray hair for a long time - and yet there's a part of me that is looking forward to the time when I've got a full head of long white-gray hair. When I put my hair up this morning, three days from my 35th birthday, I found three grays and just smiled. At some point, my hairdresser's clipping efforts are going to be futile.