What! You Want To See My Falls?

Goodbye delicious burrito (La Bonita, your burrito is as pretty as your name) and hello Columbia Historic River Highway! Did I mention that your Columbia River Gorge and waterfalls are quite a site? Thomas Cole couldn't have painted it. On Saturday, Ben and I took a tour of the highway. We stopped at Multnomah falls, a two step waterfall, and went on a short hike, along with a hundred other tourists and their pets. I'm convinced there were more dogs than gallons of water checking it out. Despite the density, it was breathtaking and I doubt Angel Falls has anything on this.
We scampered up to Hood River and played down by the waterside. Ben taught me how to skip stones and after throwing rocks (his actually skipped and mine mostly got one good skip in and then sunk) into the water lost its charm we began batting the rocks in. Ben might have had a slightly better stance than mine. In fact, much better. But, watching The Sandlot taught me a couple of things and I'm proud to say that I managed to hit a few to the outfield!

On Sunday, Ben took me to breakfast at Cup and Saucer. I think I might have proposed to the sausage on my plate, which of course made my hashbrowns and eggs a little jealous. The feud stopped after I promised my food I would be a polygamist and love each of them forever and ever. Really, absolutely delicious. Second place to papa bear's french toast and potatoes and Bonbon's hotcakes. We went and saw Kick-Ass at St. Johns Theater, a quaint two-screen theater that offers cheap matinee and popcorn. The movie was wildly entertaining and made me slightly sad that I asked for Barbies instead of switchblades and guns all those years I was growing up. That evening we went to Bryan and Lizzy's for an impromptu grilling/congratulations on your engagement/let's go Mavs party. To catch everyone up: Bryan got down on his knee and popped the question this weekend and she has the ring to prove it. In regards to the Dallas Mavericks, first playoff game was a smashing win!

Okay, okay. My real stance:

Good Day Sunshine!

Finally, the sun has made an appearance in Portland. Which has caused a reaction of appearances: my sunglasses, sandals, flowers and more colors, longer walks, reading outside, and downtown Portland. Our garden is sprouting tulips and shrubs and the front porch is covered in white petals which makes me feel like I'm walking down the wedding aisle every time I go in/out of my front door. Huzzah for the sun!

I met up with Dwight at Powells on Wednesday. He has been living in the city since last August and had somehow resisted the magnetic pull of this bookstore. How did he do it? Scientists are currently analyzing and gathering empirical data. Was it in his water? Hermetic-ism? He's deaf to the call of the sirens? After browsing the grounds for a few hours we went back to his place and watched Nate Robinson jump over Dwight Howard. Of course, after this inspiration, we had to play HORSE; I lost, which isn't shocking since I played B team C string in middle school. I was put in the game twice all year long. I guess I was a liability.

Yesterday, I met up with Ben during his lunch break and after walked around PSU (Papa Bear is wondering how it can be called Portland State University when Portland isn't a state) campus. UTD, I must ask you something, are you the ugliest college campus? I sat outside on a bench across from a statue of Abraham Lincoln and finished the book Ken gave me, His Majesty's Dragon that features talking dragons that splash around in water. I then disguised myself as a college student and hung out in the Student Union for a couple hours. Some guy sat next to me and asked me about my classes and I left feeling awkward.

Today is La Bonita Saturday! And Ben is taking me to Hood River and the falls. Did I mention I love this sunny spring weather?

Dallas Bug Jitters

I'm contemplating homicide. Do you think death of a receptionist (not a salesman) would be so heinous? She's had her years; don't you think the law should have a soft spot for the young girl, fresh out of school just wanting to secure a full time position? Out with the old and in with the new, I say! For those who need catching up, I'm job envious. I've enjoyed temping at the Dussing Group and I wish that I could be hired on as part of the Dussin cast and crew. Likelihood: 0%. If you want a more sanguine estimate: 0.001%. Never worry though, there is always temping!

I'm getting really anxious about visiting Dallas. If I owned a calendar I would be marking down the day with red Xs. I'm already packed...well, mentally. This is preparation for packing in real life. Now it will be breezy! Look out Dallas, I'm ready for ya. I have compiled an ever-growing list (also mental, but now getting the chance for hard copy) of things I want. This is not in order of importance/significance:

1 Homemade cookies (sugar, chocolate chip, noodle candy, russian tea balls?!!!) - Mom will you get on this??
2 Harry Potter-thon - Papa bear, you're my man?
3 Zoo day (s!)/backrubs SQUAWK
4 Senorita Margarita Night!!!
5 Red beans and cornbread, Southern style. Bonbon style
6 Pizza, pizza, pizza! Popeye PIZZA!
7 Backyard camping and BBQ
8 Wino night -- Erin, oblige?
9 Manicure/Pedicure
10 Taco Cabana, Primo Brothers, Genghis Grill (Old Thursday gang for this one?), Luigis, El Fenix, Java (Melinda), Freebirds, Sprinkles, Salt Grass (Melba?)
11 Mommy Movie Friday
12 Woody Allen and the Ponging party
13 Window Shopping/Birthday Exchange...maybe real shopping?
14 AMF Bowling Night
15 The old office drop in + lunch (free)...MEL JULY
16 Bub! Jordan--show me a good time in Ft. Worth?
17 Birthday (mine), Birthday (Martin), Birthday (Melinda)! Celebration anyone?
18 Breakfast at Tiffany's and crepes. Parfaits too? Mimosas??
19 Tuesday Fox and Hound
20 Mahjong 2010!
21 Magnum face-off victory (sorry Michael. Winnings: mocking and Chinese delivery)
22 Mommy Vaughn lunch date and picture session

The dates have been set. I will be enjoying the Oregon wilderness, tent style, over Memorial Day weekend with Bryan, Lizzy and Ben. Campfires, hiking and nature are a must. Beware of bears!

Nothin But Blue Skies From Now On

Portland is proud of their gray weather. I on the other hand, am getting a little tired of walking out my front door to a cloudless, gray day. It makes me lazy and it's really difficult to break from the Land of Nod. I'm ready for summer dresses and strolls in the sunshine, by golly! But, unfortunately the 7 day weather forecast looks something like this: Mostly cloudy, cloudy, 90% chance of rain, more clouds, partly sunny!, 40% chance of rain, highs in the mid-50s, partly cloudy, all cloudy....you get the drift?

I got a call from Boly:Welch offering a temp job at the Old Spaghetti Factory's corporate office. They noticed that I had previous employment at Spaghetti Warehouse and thought this gig might be right up my ally. haha, never mind that I worked as a waitress and not a receptionist. Regardless, I'll take it! For the next four business days I'll be a working girl just like Jane Fonda (except I have the 8-5 hours and hopefully no need to kill my boss).

Last weekend I finally experienced the Farmer's Market. Lizzy and I walked around with umbrellas and browsed the different tents bursting with vegetables, meats, pastas, herbs and other homegrown items. The mushrooms were a top priority purchase for me followed by a breakfast burrito. Lizzy has a green thumb and bought some herbs to plant in her garden. I'm excited about the summer months when the Market doubles in size and is way more bustling. I may even become a weekly customer. Gotta support the local growers!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Attention readers, I have an announcement (s):

1. Bentley has been on the war path. He's a regular Geronimo; only missing the war paint and feathers. But luckily, I am a greedy American here to claim my territory! Bentley will no longer be marking my room/furniture/clothes because I have the secret weapon: the doggie gate. This will assure me an instant victory!

2. I will be rekindling with howdy, cowboy land! I have official dates for my Texas visit: April 29th-May 10th! Someone (me, me!) is really excited. And that same someone (me, me!) has been dancing and grinning like a Cheshire Cat all afternoon. And eating bunny sweet tarts (thanks to the Happy-Easter package from my mommy). Anyways, I will have 12 splendid days to spend in the sweet, sweet land of Dallas, Texas.

3. According to Ben I am a chronic student. And maybe he's right. I am planning on enrolling in community college this summer and taking a couple of basic courses. I am contemplating going back to undergrad for my BS degree. I am strongly considering getting a degree in engineering. I gotta follow in my daddy's footsteps! Keep with the family business! Make the folks proud of me!

4. Within the week I will have my very own internet! For the entirety of the time I've been in Portland we have been borrowing the connection from our oblivious neighbor, Alligator. But, Alligator has submerged. Caught a prey and taken it down to the bottom of the lake and leaving me internet-less. I've been a frequent visitor at the different coffee shops around the NE. I pay a dollar for a cup of coffee and in return use their internet for four hours. Fair deal?! Definitely...except I did get a couple of mean looks when I watched Gossip Girl online :/ In any case, as soon as I can talk Comcast out of a $100 installation fee, I will finally be a proud owner of my own internet. Hopefully it sparkles.

5. Tonight is $5.00 unlimited play at Ground Kontrol. Pinball, you're going down! Get those flippers ready for me!

Whistle While You Work

Halff Associates, you can no longer claim to have the worst coffee and draftiest office. No sir, you have been booted from that throne. I'm doing temp work in this warehouse by the waterfront. When I arrived this morning it was on the verge of looking abandoned and to enter the office I followed signs leading me down a dark corridor with flickering lights. It felt like a video game and I really thought Lickers were going to crawl down from the ceiling. Fortunately, I'm alive to write another post! My introduction to the office was, "Here's the break room, make the coffee. And that black binder on top of the desk should tell you everything else you need to know." Thank you Opus Creative for the warm and thorough initiation! I would like to point out that in the black binder was not everything else I needed to know. In fact, in that black binder was very little of what I would have liked to have known (btw, I have been staring at this sentence for a good while now trying to decide if it is written grammatically correct). For example, transfering phone calls I would consider useful enough to make a page in the black binder. Opus, however, disagrees.

Yesterday I had an interview at the Vancouver USA Regional Tourism Office. The lady that interviewed me kept talking about Vancouver, Washington's identity crisis and I in turn wondered why Vancouver would even bother having a tourism office. How can you promote tourism for a town that offers an old fort, Cinetopia and a short drive to Portland?! "Come to Vancouver folks! It's better than Canada!" Honestly though, the job description sounds great, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm fairly lacking in qualifications.

Portland Monthly consistently demands their readers to eat at Pine State Biscuits, and yesterday, as a reward for waking up before 8 am, I finally obeyed. Dane and I went to this tiny little biscuit restaurant in the SE and waited in line for our breakfast of biscuits (actually, to be more correct for you mom, it was our lunch). Worth the wait?? Just look at that picture and you've got the answer. The rest of the afternoon was spent with Dane and reading Coin Locker Babies at Blend. The evening was spent watching the Dallas Mavericks battle against the Portland Blazers. For those curious, my heart was not at all torn; Dallas Mavericks for life. Unfortunately though, the blue jerseys lost the game.

Adding on to the House

The harmony of our house is crumbling and being replaced with petty actions. Not by me, of course. Here's the scoop: I live with two boys and an additional male is being added to the 4526 NE Garfield Ave household. Well, possibly. Where will he sleep? Good question! In an alcove downstairs. Adam wants to ease some of his financial burdens and his solution was by bringing in a fourth roommate. Shimeon is less than pleased. Quite a bit, actually. And yours truly is ambivalent. However, I am starting to be overwhelmed by the amount of testosterone living under one roof. Not to say that either of my roommates are the classic example of an alpha male, but some chick flicks and nail polish would be a nice change from the Chappelle Show and skateboard magazines. In any case, for the past week Adam and Shimeon have been battling it out. Shimeon's main complaint is that he doesn't want to be woken up in the morning. I know that sounds trivial, but really that is a legitimate concern. The walls in our house are paper thin and everyone hears every little sound (Modest Mouse has it right). Especially in the mornings. And since Shimeon has put his foot down, Adam has as well. Except physically and in the mornings around 6:45 AM. Really, he is now going out of his way to make sure that he wakes up Shimeon and by extension, me. So, will Shimeon cave and let a fourth roommate move into the space outside his bedroom. Stay tuned...

Yesterday, I asked out a girl. Did your jaw hit the floor? Well, I did. Lizzy invited me to go shopping with her and while shuffling through jeans I met a girl at Nordstroms. Sure, sure she was assisting me and probably only being nice because she wanted the commission, but she was amicable and I decided that I liked her. So, I stalked her around the store, feeling more than slightly pathetic, and then I did it. I asked for her phone number. I now feel like a man. But maybe, friend?!! I can only hope she is aware this is platonic and I wasn't actually asking her out on a date.

Also, I don't think I ever mentioned that for a week we had double the Vaughns in Portland. Ben's brother, Michael, came into town. It is advisable to spend your Spring Break up in the glorious NW. Him and Melinda both fully agree on this. Here is a list of some things on his to-do list:
-Coffee shops! Michael was told to visit: 1) Stumptown, 2) Albina Press and 3) Barista. I was introduced to the one shot latte
- Ground Kontrol for arcade games and pinball
- FIFA, many soccer matches were played. There was a Dane vs Michael show down.
- Magic tricks. Michael has the skill of legerdemain down and I was quite impressed. Seriously, I was an eight year old with big eyes and an open mouth.
- Powells, of course. Michael spent two full days in this book mecca.
- Basketball games, both Dallas Mavericks and Portland Blazers.