Halloween

Another Halloween has come and gone. This year, I had no plans for any parties, no costume. I have decided, though, that next year is the year and either I will host a Halloween party or convince one of my friends to, OR I will at least be going to one. Also, I have already decided my costume, which will probably have to be made for me because it is unlikely I'd find what I need anywhere.

This year, I spent the eve with a friend whose anniversary of birth is ol' October 31. What a FUN birthday to have! Of all the holidays, the only one I could think would be better in some ways would be 4th of July. Anyways...we had a nice dinner at Gustovo's by Washington Square. The food was good, and I actually had some wine to review. I'm not planning on writing that tonight so I will link it tomorrow.

Also, I got to wear my mirrored jewel shoes from a previous post. They are comfortable and got a lot of compliments. Overall, a night well spent.

For Viewing Pleasure

I took this picture four years ago just after moving here. The building in the back is clearly Fox Tower, and in the foreground is Columbia Sportswear. It looks like I intentionally faded out the tower, but I didn't. My friend and I were going around with two cameras. One was a moderately low priced digital, and one was an SLR with black and white film. Honestly, I don't remember for sure but I thought this was the SLR. However, closer inspection reveals some digital oddities that I don't think you would get from scanning in a photo.

I'm sure when you're walking around downtown Portland you've noticed that Fox Tower takes on the color of whatever the sky is doing. It's incredibly reflective of blues and grays especially which make it look almost transparent. Here, the sky was overcast and almost white. (That deep line going through just above center was a shadow that was created by part of the building that is offset. Other interesting features of this building: it was engineered to block as little light as possible from Pioneer Square---it almost never casts a shadow there; I theorize that the shape causes a wind tunnel to form around the building, especially on the East and South sides---it is often considerably windier around there than anywhere else in town; It appeared in a nation-wide ad for a credit card, which was pointed out to me by my manager when she was looking through some magazine.)

Fun with photography!

Boredom On The Wires

Completed my list of to-dos.

Nothing to blog about.

Having sudden doubts about my new but temporary job that starts tomorrow at 8 am.

Little To Say

I must've seen nothing interesting on TV or the internet today because I basically have nothing to talk about. My weekend is composed of a laundry list of to-dos that I would like to finish before Monday morning. Of those things, I accomplished nothing today.

One thing I did manage to do today was frivolously buy another pair of black shoes. These were quite justifiable because the price was only $35 and they are a really adorable sueded peeptoe with a large mirrored jewel on the top of the vamp. Also, CH and I were looking for something for her to wear to her ten year reunion and we found an impressively simple and elegant dress. There is apparently no picture on store's website so eventually I'll have to post a picture of it because it is sort of hard to describe. (The cool thing about CH getting a new dress is that eventually I might get to borrow it.)

Hittin' The Gay Bars

So, I went out with two gay guy friends. There is nothing more fun than gabbing with a couple gals at a low key gay bar because as the only legit female there, there is basically no chance of getting hit on by freako bar inhabitants.

But, as such, I am also now too tired to do anything else. Look for responses to comments or decent posts tomorrow.

Goodnight.

Reasons To Hate Monkeys

1) They smell bad.
2) They are ugly.
3) They are stupid.
4) They are utterly annoying.

Top reason:
5) They make lewd gestures at women.

And as further proof, an excerpt from a fellow monkey-hater:

He also did odd things with his bathroom parts which he would get into big trouble for. He would look at me and grin a big monkey grin while he did it too.

Read more of the link if you want further details of the assault.

None of these experiences have been mine, but I know with every particle of my being that I hate monkeys and do not ever want to see one in person. I do not think they are cute. I do not find them funny or adorable.

What, you may ask, is the reason for my hatred? When I was about 12, I was reading National Geographic and they were doing a story on some apes or something. The main picture was of two of them doing the nasty while a third looked on. The article also described how they were all taking turns....I'm too disturbed to continue.

California Burning

Every couple of years, California burns down. I don't want to seem uncaring about people losing their homes but there is still a mean side of me that can't feel too sorry for the celebrities. Luckily for celebrities and regular folks alike, home owners insurance covers fires.

The wild fires that happened three years ago hit closer to home. They went right through the area where I grew up before moving to Oregon. Our old house was spared, as was my uncle and aunt's place but some of their neighbors weren't so lucky. This isn't Malibu we are talking about either. This is the San Bernardino mountains, pretty modest living save all the rich people with massive vacation homes in the villages near Crestline. And like three years ago, another fire threatens those places too. My uncle can see the fire from his front yard. Luckily for him, this time it is headed in the opposite direction, but they are still helping friends with precautionary evacuation of horses and making sure they are also prepared in case the wind changes.

Here's a link that compares the Old Fire and the Panorama Fire. Arsonists are evil. Also, my uncle took that picture a couple days ago from his front yard.